Easter......already?!

Who can believe that Easter is a mere month away?? Albeit it is quite early this year. I do love this time of year though, between New Years, Australia Day, Valentine's Day and then Easter there is never a dull moment from a holiday perspective! So naturally with the passing of V day my attention has recently turned to Easter and how we shall celebrate this year, but more importantly what we will give. My instincts are to steer away from the traditional Easter eggs (as we all just get enough of those!) and go for gifts a little sweeter, prettier and home made. Easter cookies I think are an ideal gift, all prettily packaged up. I've been scrawling Pinterest for inspiration these last few days and these are some of the favourite ones I have found.  You can check out the entire Pinterst inspiration board here, with ideas for Easter tables, cookies of course, cupcakes and Easter decorations. 

Stay tuned for Meko's Easter cookies in coming weeks, that will of course be available to purchase prior to Easter.

Ciao for now x

All images courtesy of Pinterest.......visit here for full image credits. 

My other great love........

So you've all probably got the message by now I'm a bit creative and love to post blogs filled with baking tips, parties and recipes. But I thought I would do something different today, I thought I would give you an update on my other great love in life......my painting! Yes whilst Mr Meko is busily baking away I am often down in the studio working on my art. In fact I'm in the studio most days! 

Recently I opened an Etsy store as a platform to sell my work, and excitingly I've already sold two of my kids/nursery paintings. But I don't just do nursery art, I also have been working on some other pieces too that will hopefully find a good home! 

You can check out my Etsy store here, so please pop by and have a look! The below are just a handful of some of the pieces available so please visit my shop and check out the whole collection. I'm posting new work all the time and you can follow my updates on my facebook page here.

Anyway a short but sweet post today. Ciao for now x

"All Stars" - framed art, 44 x 34cm, $45.00

"Zebra" - stretched canvas, 76 x 102cm, $200AUD

"Green butterfly" - stretched canvas, 90 x 90cm, $200AUD

"Penguins" - 3 x stretched canvas, 20 x 26cm each, $90AUD

"Butterfly" - framed art, 54 x 54cm, $75AUD

"Party Ducks" - 2 x stretched canvas, 25 x 30cm each, $70AUD

A Crispy Treatie for your Valentine's Day Sweetie

Ahhh Valentine's Day.......the one day of the year where lovers all around the world show their love for each other, known or unknown! As a teenager all my fingers and toes would be crossed each Valentine's Day that maybe there would be an unknown admirer out there somewhere that would surprise me on the most romantic day of the year wanting to be my Valentine. Alas it never happened. Instead I ended up with a gorgeous boyfriend turned husband who in the beginning always made an effort on Valentine's Day (in fact always made an effort with flowers and romantic dinners any day of the week!) but unfortunately ten years later transformed into one of those 'I don't believe in Valentine's Day' types. Oh well it was great while it lasted. Although in saying that I did kick up a slight stink last year and was delighted when a box of a two dozen red long stem roses arrived at work on the 14th of February. This year I'm not holding my breath. But that's not to say that I can't treat him with a little Valentine's Day gift myself!

So I decided rather than buy in to Valentine's Day like the rest, instead I would bake for it (well sort of anyway.....there are no ovens required for this recipe!). I decided on rice crispy treats, Valentine's Day style. How better to show your love with a sticky gooey sweet mess.  And boy oh boy was it sticky and sweet! Lets just say that my weekend began on a huge sugar high making these sweet little treats. I thought I would share the recipe with you all in case you wanted to indulge someone special in your life too. Hope you enjoy x

Valentine's Day Rice Crispy Treats

(makes about 15)

280g packet of marshmallows

60g butter

pink food colouring (optional)

5 cups rice bubbles

150g white compound chocolate 

sprinkles/ hundreds & thousands

1. Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave proof bowl and heat on high for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir well to combine.

Add a couple of drops of food colouring if you wish to colour your treats. Working quickly, add the rice bubbles cup by cup, stirring well to combine.

Mold and push the mixture into a large square/rectangular baking tray (I used a 30x20x4cm tin) lined with baking paper and flatten with a spatula. 

Set aside to cool.

2. Once cooled, remove the slab from the baking tray using the baking paper and layout on a bench to cut. Using heart shape cutters, cut out your treats  and set aside for decorating. 

N.B if you don't have cutters, simply cut into squares.

3. Melt your white chocolate in a microwave safe dish in 30 second blocks, stirring in between, until fully melted and runny. 

Using a piping bag, pipe around the edges of each heart treat with chocolate and then fill the centre until the top of the treat is completely covered. 

Sprinkle with sprinkles and set aside to allow to set. 

What's party trending for 2013?!

So we are one month in to 2013 already, can you believe it?! And as always all the predictions are in full swing as to what's in and what's out in the fashion world for this year. Apparently the colour emerald is in and colour blocking is out. And the same rules apply in a way to parties. I'm not saying go and theme all your parties in emerald green, but there is definitely some 'ins' and some 'outs' each year in the party world that we should pay attention to. I've been doing a bit of research on this topic to see what others are predicting in the party space, and to be honest there isn't a great deal out there. So I'm going to lead the way and call it instead! So here it is......these are my top 6 predictions for what's in this year for parties!

1. Neutral colour palettes are in and bold colours are out!

Bold colours were very in last year, even from a fashion sense, but this year think more minimalist, soft greys, beige's, whites and even metallics. 

2. DIY Dessert Stations are in and Cake Pops are out!

Anyone else over cake pops? They have been done to death! Don't get be wrong, I still love them but there is more to kids parties than just cake pops! This year it will be all about the DIY stations - think donut bars, sundae bars and even pancake or hot chocolate bars! Be creative as you like and let your guests be as creative as they like too!

 3. Pop Corn Bars are in and Lolly Bars are out!

According to Catersource Magazine, a leading party planning resource, this year the Lolly or Candy Bar will have a face lift and the prediction is that Pop Corn Bars will lead the way! What could be more yum than flavouring your own popcorn with hot caramel, melted chocolate or even cinnamon sugar?!

4. Make Your Own Street Food is in and Sit Down Dinners are out!

Following on from the DIY dessert bars, 2013 will really be the year of making your own, even for the  main course! Guests will create their own gourmet hot dogs, pizzas, burgers and even assemble a taco at a self service taco station. Parties will trend towards being more stand up functions and cocktail parties. Sitting down and having your meal brought to you will be a thing of the past. It's all about guest-food interactivity. 

5. Whoopie Pies are in and Macarons are out!

Sorry Zumbo but Macarons have been done to death! It's time for an upgrade to Whoopie Pies.......yum!

6. Tassels & Garlands are in and Buntings are out!

Buntings are cute but it's time for an upgrade. There are so many fun tassels and garlands available on etsy right now made with strips of ribbon, fabric and paper. Or why not be creative and make your own!

All images courtesy of Pinterest. Please visit my Pinterest board for full image credits.