Cookie Dough Birthday Cake

My eldest son turned 15 this week and as the son of a cake maker, he normally comes to me with a whole host of weird and wonderful cake requests.

But now he's a teenager, all of that has changed.

Gone are the novelty character cakes featuring Thomas the Tank Engine or Transformers and in are the chocolate coated drip cakes. My son has the biggest sweet tooth of any kid I know and can devour cookie dough like it's going out of fashion...

Budapest in a weekend!

It's been 12yrs since I boarded an airplane but after getting my passport renewed earlier this year, I've been desperate to fly away and get international stamps on my passport pages.

My partner is a fan of F1 and he travels to as many races as he can within Europe but I've never been to a race, or even watched it on TV! So when he decided to book us a weekend away to Budapest, I jumped at the chance of a new experience.

Discovering the Peak District

Despite living only about 45mins away from the Peak District, I've never really explored it except to visit Chastworth House and walk around Bakewell for a few hours after delivering a wedding cake there years ago...

So when my other half suggested going away for a weekend to celebrate his 40th birthday, I booked us an Airbnb at a lovely little place in Grindleford and kept it as a surprise until we arrived!

And boy was he surprised...

MCM Birmingham Comic Con

This year was the first time I visited the MCM Comic Con in Birmingham and I'm so glad that I did as it turned out to be a great family day out!

It was quite a last minute decision to attend but I decided to take my 8yr old as we usually go to Em-Con so he's getting used to these events and what they entail.

Levelling up to 40

After months of planning, countless meals out, celebrating with family & friends and travelling to Wales - I finally hit the 40 milestone that I had been dreading for so long. I say dreading, I guess that's an overstatement but I felt a lot of pressure to make the day AMAZING and I knew nothing I could do would love up to the momentous occasion.

I was wrong.

A few months before the big day, I started to toy with the idea of getting away for the weekend to do something crazy and a bit memorable. I wanted to mark the day and so I looked into finding a little getaway for us to celebrate in our own company. I've been wanting to walk up Snowdon for years, so we decided to try and find somewhere local so we could head up the mountain to celebrate. We found the most gorgeous little place in Bala, but on route there we started to hear weather reports about snow and flooding and when we arrived the owner confirmed that Snowdon wasn't going to be advisable on my birthday...

Weekending in the Yorkshire Dales

You know that point you get to in a week when you think "I just need a break!" well I hit that point last week and thankfully was saved by an impromptu trip to the Yorkshire Dales. I've never been to the Dales before but I knew I wanted a bit of seclusion and plenty of fresh air. Spoiler - Embsay delivered on both fronts.

RED January - Active Every Day

This January, I have signed up for RED January. A month long challenge to keep active every day and support the charity Mind at the same time.