October 31, 2013

 Happy Halloween!
Are you having a Halloween party or heading out to trick or treat?

We will be out this evening with the kids doing a little Trick or Treating – our local area has certainly gotten into the spirit of Halloween so it has become a tradition now to be out with everyone having fun.

I still wonder how many people offer the trick instead of the treat?

Image: Leanne Ambrogio for Sweet Style

October 28, 2013

Welcome back for another Monday – I am excited to show off the amazing cookies I have on the blog today as they are by one of my all time favourite cookie bakers – Noo from Dessert Menu Please in Melbourne.  I am thrilled to say that I have even had the pleasure of enjoying Noo’s cookies a number of times this year as I had her make the fantastic cookies for Sofia’s Pantone Art Party (see them here) as well as some cookies for an easter shoot I was doing (see these cuties here).

Noo’s talent for creating the most exceptional cookies is second to none and she will post them to you anywhere in Australia.  Mine arrived safe and sound with plenty of time before the event and they tasted fresh and beautiful.  So here is what Noo had to tell us about her cookie baking business.  PS.  She also makes amazing cakes!

When did you find a passion for cookie making?

I love baking. I always bake cakes, tarts, macarons, etc. for my friends and family on special occasions like Birthday or Christmas. But my passion for hand-decorated cookies actually comes from the failure on my first trial. My first batch (mid of 2009) came out terrible. The colours bleeded on each other. The lines were not straight. I couldn’t even pipe the initial properly. I consider myself self-taught baker, who is quite lucky that I always got everything right at the first trial but these easy looking decorated cookies made me question what is so hard about them that I didn’t get them right straightaway. So I tried again and again and again.

Tell us a little bit more about your business, how long have you had it and how did it get started?

I keeps on making cookies until the point that I wanted to turn everything I saw around me into cookies. One day, my friends told me about North Melbourne Market, where they wanted to sell their stuff. They were nice enough to let me share the table with them. I had lots of compliments about the cookies on the Market day. That’s when Dessert Menu, Please starts and it’s been almost 4 years now but I still consider myself a home baker.

Do you have a favourite cookie you have ever baked?

It is kind of hard to pick one that I like most. I would say anything that requires constructing. However, if I have to pick one, I pick the mini Cupcake Stand Cookie. It is actually my first original 3-dimensional cookie and I made that for my sister’s birthday.

To find our how to contact Noo please visit her on Facebook here.

October 25, 2013

Earlier this week I attended the most wonderful and for me inspiring workshop.

A workshop that combined two of my greatest passions :: photography + organisation

There was so much more to the workshop though – the amazing hosts whose blogs I have followed, the incredible space in which we spent out day, lovely participants who were so enthusiastic to learn and fabulous food to keep us nourished all day.

I came away feeling energised to create even more beautiful memories for my family (and myself) and be even more on top of my photo organising systems than I already am : and I am a pretty obsessive organiser – just ask my family and friends.

The workshop was help by two amazing ladies – Trish and Ronnie.  Trish a photographer who loves documentary style shooting and Ronnie a graphic designer an amazing memory keeper who loves to document her life and share her systems with others.

The tips and tricks I learnt just fuelled my love of both photography and being organised.   With the number of photographs I take in a week on both my DSLR and my iPhone things can become overwhelming so just having some new ideas in place is wonderful.

I love sharing images from life with my family but all too often I feel as though too much time as passed so I have lost the moment to share them.  Hopefully I will now be able to share more regularly and enjoy the process!

If you would like more information about the Life Captured Workshops then visit Trish or Ronnie‘s blogs to find out more.  Here are some of my photos from our amazing day.

We also received a fabulous goody bag (which included something special from Sweet Style)! – so much loveliness in a cute calico bag!

Off for another photo filled weekend!  Hope you have a great one also.

October 22, 2013

So excited when Little One Kids asked if they could feature Sienna & Tes’s 7th Birthday Pool Party in their latest edition of the magazine – it does feel like it was a little while ago now as Sienna has recently turned 9 but the party did happen well after her birthday seeing as we wanted a summer themed party!

Thanks Little One Kids for including us in your latest edition!  You can visit their website here to find out where to buy the magazine.

 

October 21, 2013

Happy Monday to you wherever you are.  I hope you had a lovely weekend and the week ahead is looking exciting.

Today we are meeting Belinda from Baked by Belle who today is sharing with us a little about her business and images of her amazing cookies which she is known for.  Here is what Belinda had to tell us:-

I have always loved baking. A few years ago, the first cookies I learnt to make with a family member, were for my two boys Mickey Mouse themed birthday party. A few months later I resigned from my job in the insurance industry after 10 years and thought it was time to look for a job closer to home. I started experimenting and trying different recipes since I was home and had spare time. My two little boys were involved having fun cutting shapes, helping me and being my taste testers too! I then made some baby cookies for a girlfriend who was expecting twin girls. That night my girlfriends were all encouraging me to start selling them and my response was “Who is going to pay for a biscuit? you girls are crazy it will never happen!”  I posted these photos on my Facebook page and started getting messages from friends enquiring if they could place an order. I still rememebr the first order I received. I ran outside to my husband in excitement letting him know that people actually want to buy these from me.  And as they say the rest is history!

I never thought I would be working from my own home and 2 years on I still have the passion, love and drive for my baking and decorating.  I have an amazing family that has been behind me all the way along with a fantastic group of friends. I never thought I had a creative side but my sister soon reminded me about my jewellery making that I once sold several years ago so I guess it has always been there…somewhere! I have been given the most amazing oppurtunities with my work and I have loved all the beautiful people I have met along the way.

 I feel honoured to have made cookies for so many wonderful people & charities. I would have to say one of my favourite cookies I have made were my ruffled flower cookies for Samantha Wills. It was so exciting to see her writing about my cookies on her Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. Someone as successful as herself was writing about little old me!

 

To see more of Belinda’s fantastic cookies you can visit her facebook page here or find her on instagram or twitter.