Branches, tulips and eggs

I can't resist a reason to do a bit of fun decor and Easter is hands down the cutest of the bunch! I was planning something a but punchier but apparently post moves slower before a long weekend. But how I love this pared-back look. Instead of going upright in a vase branches and a mixed bunch of tulips are individually placed. Mixed in are the ubiquitous eggs. Albeit it concrete and marble eggs.

Dinner was also a mix of simple favorites with fries and bacon wrapped beans and honey and parmesan stuffed breast with honeyed port sauce. Dessert was sour cream pound cake mini eggs with buttercream frosting. Actually these are made from the left-over cake bits of a giant Easter egg cake!

Happy Easter!

I'm hoping to make it a great weekend for the fam, despite the less than stellar weather. Weekend and not holiday because I always have three days off (lucky, eh). Loads of baking and food and Easter egg hunts. The table is set and waiting. But for now a sweet little view to get started.

Fairy tales

Tuesday felt like popcorn and movie night. I made a batch of buttery sprinkle coated popcorn and we settled in we maybe draped in kids. Beauty and the beast was the chosen viewing. A Disney classic that I can’t recollect seeing. After the shock of the amount of singing, I settled in with a mouthful of sweet goodness. We had a good time, finished the popcorn and the movie and tucked the little ones in to bed with a little respite from bedtime. The thing that stuck with me was that maybe I was wrong?

I love fairy tales but felt them useless in the real world. Full of the impossible and fantastical. But afterwards I wondered if this was true? Okay so maybe there are no sorcerers and enchanted roses but there is vanity, fear, loathing, bitterness and anger. And it’s still patience, kindness and in the end love. It’s always that which breaks the spell.

Not love of things, ideals or oneself but of another. When my daughter runs to us after a nightmare, it’s not a logical explanation of the wind that calms her. It’s the instant enveloping, soft whispers and caresses. When my son had an unexpected asthma attack in bed and couldn’t draw a full breathe, I felt I couldn’t either. I would happily take everything he felt a hundredfold for him, without hesitation. The love of my partner. His kindness, his patience, his love. I could give a hundred examples but I am simply better for it. 

I’m still fearful about loads of thing, like raising my family in a world where love doesn’t seem to be the goal or even the journey. I still get down about myself, my body, my life. But patience, kindness and love keep me from going there too often and from staying there. 

A smile, a kiss, a hug, an outstretched hand, a strong shoulder, a listening ear, a warm tear, a open mind. The smallest of gestures can be the hardest to make but imagine if we all felt love? Love is more powerful than any and every emotion. Fear, anger and conviction can motivate but only love can elevate. It is the happily ever after. The spellbreaker. 

Spring snaps

Sunshine makes everthing better...

Yellow brick, red block heels

These shoes instantly made me think of The wizard of Oz. Three clicks of those red babies was all it took. Except instead of no place like home it made me like, no crave, a pair of block heels. Up until then I despised the prim and proper look. Who knew, all it took was a bit of red and the ability to wear as a mule. Perfect for a bright but slightly nippy spring day. Find them here.

Breakfast bar

Balance. I'm forever searching for the perfect balance. Whether it's between aesthetically pleasing or highly functioning. Sugar rush yummy or tummy helping healthy. This spot combines both those quests. Using precious, and by that I mean sparse, kitchen countertop purely for display or storing more unsightly packages of food? Eating something fun and easy in the mornings or a power-packed fiber king?

I opted for a bit of both. The kitchen cupboard real estate is still a display spot. Except now it holds our breakfast goods. We now know how much coffee is left instead of having a half a bag stuck in hiding in a different cupboard each week. My new favourite spread because I'll always be a sucker for coconut. Most important though, are the giant amounts for cereal. Nut packed for my guy and homemade cherry for me.

Ah, I feel settled and zen, already. Have a great week.

Cherry nutty granola

500 grams 4-grain flakes 

500 whole wheat flakes

125 grams brown almonds

125 grams bitter almonds

125 hazelnut pieces

400 grams unsweetened dried cherries

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

75 grams coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla paste

100 grams maple syrup

heat oven to 180 celsius. Mixed all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil and add the vanilla paste and maple syrup to mix. Coat the grain, nut and cherry mixture and toss to coat. Bake in a single sheet on moderate heat for about ten minutes. let coo and break into bite-sized clusters.

Hero training camp

Originally I planned to has this room ready for Christmas! How unrealistic was that. Can you say lacking in planning skills. I seem to totally underestimate the amount of time DIY-ing actually takes. Now I'm happy that we managed to get the first half of the update done.

The vintage climbing rack was completely disassembled and sanded down my hand, lacquered in a matte varnish and reassembled with new hardware. Luckily my guy did the metal because goggles and sparks were a bridge too far.

The super cool swing is from Rafa Kids and purchased here. The shelves are the replacement for the changing table and were so much more work than envisioned. I cut every piece of wood myself and sanded every cm 5 times! And then out came the trusty tub of matte lacquer. The cubes are random sizes and are haphazardly stacked but are fastened to the wall and each other for any bright climbing ideas.

The room is filled with the coolest little accessories, with a ton more in storage since last year, but here are a few of the goodies; spider poster, milk light, cookie light, little monster print, polaroid on wood, lantern and batman mask.

"Ik zou wel een kindje lusten" sour cream chocolate cake

Mika loves, loves a book titled “I really want to eat a child”. I mean this book is requested pretty much every night and every night we shout out the last pages in threesome and then he giggles and goes to sleep a happy camper. 

Another part of this routine revolves around him reminding me that I still have to make the cake for him. A promise a promise and so I finally made the cake. It’s a fairly straightforwared chocolate cake with ditto frosting and glaze. The frosting on the top is white chocolate coloured yellow, which is so much more fun as kids get to decide how yellow. We had a ball making this together and that is almost more fun than the eating..almost.

Sour cream chocolate cake
2 cups fine white sugar
2 cups patent flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 baking powder
1 1/2 vanilla paste
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
125 grams sour cream
3/4 hot water

Chocolate frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 tablespoons cacao powder
1 cup powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
milk

White chocolate glaze
200 grams white chocolate
milk
natural food colouring 

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Parchment paper, grease and flour desired pans. I used the smallest ones I have for two smaller, higher cakes. Sift sugar, flour, cacao, baking powder, soda and salt in a food processor and whizz to incorporate. Add in the wet ingredients, vanilla, eggs, milk and hot water. Divide between the pans. Bake for 35 tot 40 minutes or until risen and cakes begin to pull away for the sides. Because of the sour cream, the cakes remain smudgy and dense like brownies.

Beat the butter, cacao, sugar and vanilla till thick in a food processor. Add tablespoons of milk while on low speed, till thick and fluffy. Melt chocolate au-bain-marie and add drops of colour till desired colour. Thin with milk to thick but pourable consistency. When cooled frost the cakes and pour glaze over the top. Top with candied cherries. Serves 16.

Off the grid

Replacing the old laundry basket a couple weeks ago turned into a mini bathroom update. It started with the large grid basket, which was followed by several smaller ones because this household produces laundry like breaths and I have no desire to do laundry daily. 

I then decided to get searching for the biggest bathmat I could find because the individual ones kept getting moved around like stepping stones because not even a pinkie toe of my daughter's must feel cold tile in the morning. I then moved the bench in because I have a bad back and wiggly, squirmy kids..okay, okay I'm kind of lazy. The concrete knob came in to replace the mini shelf said wigglers kept bumping their heads on.



Pictured Laundry baskets, concrete hooks, bathmat, bench and plant pot. Lip balm and natural sea sponge can be found here.