Friends - Friends old, friends new, friends borrowed and Cupcakes!!

A bit of a cryptic title I realise........  Let me explain

Years ago, a lot longer than I care to remember, I was employed as a nanny to look after an 8 month old girl as her mum was running a very busy, stressful cafe business in Totnes, Devon.  Sounds simple - however I was 19/20 years old, did not really know what I was doing and just winged it, like you do when you are young and desperately needed a job!!

Funny thing was that within a week I was smitten, Melody was a lovely child, happy, smiling and really fun.  She was not walking, still on bottles and a nap during the day but I coped.  I gradually got more and more into the role, began to love her mum as much as her and before I knew it I had a life long friend, I have probably known and trusted her mum Gill as a dear friend longer than anyone I know.  The three of us did a lot together including going on a very memorable holiday to Morocco - Mels was not walking, had two mums running around after her, a pool, scrambled eggs for breakfast and sun - what more could a little girl want?

Morocco

Gill and I had quite a lot more to contend with, let me tell you.  Two women alone in Morocco on a package holiday in a dodgy Tangiers hotel on our own......  say no more!

Well we survived.  I used to take Mels swimming to the local pool in Totnes almost every day, swimming was my thing, I loved it and I was determined she would love it too.  She was great, I got so sick of people telling me how my baby looked just like me that I stopped bothering to tell them that she wasnt mine, she did look like me, dark hair, tall, etc. I sometimes forgot she wasnt mine!!  (sorry Gill) we had such fun together.  I even  photographed her on the Dartington Hall donkey (if you know Dartington Gardens, Totnes, Devon you will know exactly where I mean).  Every child born in the area just HAS to have their photo taken on the donkey.  I have one of myself, aged the same as Mels (about 10 months) and have one of both my own children too (we still have to get a picture of Lola on it).  Here she is:

Mels on the donkey with Ish

Time moved on and so did we all, Gill eventually did not need a nanny any more but we still stayed friends.  Our friendship grew and changed over time, one of those strange things where two women share stories, loves, battles and bottles of wine late into the night, secrets never to be repeated, horrid times, hard times, laughs, fun and unimaginable joy.  I lived with her for a while when I split up from a long term relationship, we tried out different kinds of life when she and her husband split, had a household full of women at one point - what fun that was!, parties, different guys, lots of music and dancing.

Gill then settled with Steve, husband, lover and father to her two subsequent kids.  As all relationships change so did ours, we had our kids, drifted apart, but came together again when we needed to.  She saved me when I suffered an awful divorce and I hope I was there for her when she needed me over the years (though not as often as I - and probably she - would like).  Anyway we are still friends - still love each other - still enjoy making and creating and bouncing ideas off each other when we can make time to do it. 

To cut a long story short, and the whole point of this blog - my lovely first baby is now 28 and getting married! I spent yesterday down in Totnes with them all, Gill and my first baby Melody, my real first baby Aimee and her first baby (my lovely granddaughter Lola) - Are you confused yet? all having a wonderful day, making cupcakes for the wedding cake!!  How totally fabulous is that?

There are a very few times in life when you get a brief, clear and warm realisation why we are here on this planet, why we do what we do and why we keep hold of those who are so dear to us despite changing lives, changing times, moving house and the rest of it.

So here I send my best wishes to my very first baby Melody, her husband to be Sam, her kids, the whole family and most of all MY FRIENDS.  Thank you all for being there when I needed you, I hope I can do the same whenever you need it and I hope our families can carry on the bond.  I am so looking forward to being with you all on your special day this Saturday.

And most of all thanks to you Mels, putting up with me practicing being a mum on you!!

Me and Melody XX

Remember your friends - they are always there for you and always special.

Rock n Roll Brides, Rockabetty Studios and Restoration Cakes!

Well with names like that these three intrepid, enterprising, exciting, wacky, fun and fantastic companies all run by women must surely grab your attention!

All three are on Twitter and that's how I became aware of their fantastic businesses.

I'm relatively new to Twitter but currently have the pleasure of tweeting with Duncan Bannatyne of Dragons Den fame, Andy Murray (although he doesnt tweet much) and Ben Bradshaw to namedrop a few...........  If you want to be one of my followers tweet @soapchickuk and say hi or follow the link on this page - it's fun.

Best of all I have made some really good contacts for the business particularly people who live locally.  I went and visited a new photographic studio in Exmouth called "Exmouth Studios"  funnily enough - run by Edd King and Claire Sloan they have taken over a lovely old building, done it up beautifully and are offering a wide variety of service from portraits to photo printing (they have a very large photo printer).  The studio is located in the old Red Cross Hall on South Street in Exmouth, opposite the side of the Blackmore Theatre. Post code for sat nav is: EX8 2SA.  They are a very friendly bunch but don't just take my word for it, go and say hello - Edd makes a wicked cup of tea!

Anyway, I digress.  I wanted to tell you more about the three linked businesses I have met on Twitter.  They all have something to do with weddings.

Rock n Roll Brides is run by Kat Williams who runs a bridal service with a difference, in her own words

"my aim is to provide a little haven of kick ass weddingness in the overly poofy, pastel and often puke-worthy wedding world. If you’ve ever picked up a bridal magazine and felt queasy, or trawled the internet and felt disheartened by what you didn’t find, well my friend you are in the right place!"

My kind of girl - her blog is excellent (click the link above) its funny, fully of brilliant photos and ideas, I really recommend you have a look.  I was so chuffed when she featured my cupcakes recently.   Kim has also featured another two wonderful businesses Rockabetty Studios and Restoration Cakes on her blog. 

This is one of the terrific photographs from Kims blog, taken by Rockabetty Studios who specialise in wonderful photo shoots with fab vintage clothes and accessories with the aim of turning any bored housewife or working girl into a stunning glamor puss!!  Its a picture of Charlotte Gamble of Restoration Cakes whose celebration cakes have a stunning vintage feel and will really bring that WOW factor to your party or wedding.  Do take the time to visit these three ladies sites, I promise you will not be disappointed.

I now need to go away and count up the pennies, I would sooooo love to have one of those studio shoots, I am the most non photogenic person in the whole world, if they could make me look even one tenth as good as Charlotte I would be amazed!!

Bye bye Tea party soaps and HELLO Cream Teas!!

I'm both excited and sad today.  I have been working like a trojan to get my new soaps put together and I'm really annoyed with myself that I did not take step-by-step photos, I think they would have been fun, oh well, next time.  I was sad as I had to say goodbye to my "Mad Hatter Tea Party" cupcakes.  Its funny how I get attached to my soaps, but I really do!  I am just hoping that their new owner and bride-to-be is as happy as I am.  Her wedding in at the end of July and I wish her all the best for a beautiful and sunny day.  Here they are for one last time nestled in their new special cupcake boxes, don't they look snug?  I'm so glad that the corners of the tablecloths just fit above the holes for the cupcake bases - pure luck! (by the way, they are all CP soap apart from the jam)

So now to the exciting bit.  My lovely daughter Aimee had the idea.  "Mum why don't you make some cream tea cupcakes?"  To which I replied "Great idea!!" (because I stupidly think I can make anything in CP soap and I love a challenge)
We live in beautiful, sunny Devon, England and a tradition both here and in Cornwall is to have a cream tea.  For those of you who don't know what that is I will explain.  You order a cream tea, and it has to be at a proper old farmhouse with a lovely garden full of roses, and out comes a tray groaning with china teapot, milk jug, cups and saucers and a serving dish full of handmade, just out of the oven that morning, plain scones.  (am I making you hungry yet?) - also on the tray is a dish piled high with homemade jam, full of fruit and smelling delicious and then the main event - Rich, golden and scrummy clotted cream.  If you don't know this wonderful stuff you have never really lived.... its gloriously stiff, never really runny, with a crust that breaks as soon as you put your spoon into it - my sister, who now lives in California - can eat it straight off the spoon!!  This is what a table usually looks like.....

So today I put them altogether.  For those soap makers among you, I had already made the fruit using rebatch CP soap scented with berries FO and had made a basic goats milk and olive oil soap with added honey and poured this into my molds the day before.  I cut the "scones", sponged the freshly baked look using natural oxide pigments, made up my special whipped clotted cream CP soap and put them all together.  I am so pleased with the results!

STRAWBERRY JAM AND CLOTTED CREAM

BLACKBERRY JELLYLICIOUS

So, the end of a very busy but productive day and that has to be good.  Now I want to go and look up lots of other countries national, favourite sweet/pastry dishes and see if I can make them in soap.......  Oh my, I think I'm on a roll........  ideas please?