February, the month of birthdays

We have three birthdays in the family within four days of each other this month, which was pretty bad planning, don't you think?  First cab off the rank is our grandson in Sydney who turns three tomorrow.  Sadly, we won't be there to help in the celebrations - if only we could move our cities a little closer together.

Next comes our eldest grandchild, who turns seven on Wednesday and he is within driving distance, so we had a family celebration lunch today.

He did a mammoth job blowing out the candles, as there were 13 cupcakes, spelling out Happy Birthday on the candles.  A couple of hours earlier the cakes I had baked the night before looked pretty ordinary.

But a little bit of magic was about to take place. The very talented Bel of Enticing Icing had made some fabulous icing toppings to dress the cupcakes.  This is the second time Bel has created fondant adorableness to make my humble cupcakes sing, and it won't be the last time.

They came beautifully protected and in perfect condition.
 

Once they were introduced to the cupcakes, it was love at first sight.

Light the candles and the show was ready to roll.

And the third birthday?  Mine.  I never regret my birthdays, in fact, I am quite grateful to be around to celebrate them!

There was a BrisStyle committee meeting yesterday and I was delightfully surprised to receive gifts from two of the lovely committee members, Helen and Ali. I was also a little embarrassed, as I never seem to remember anyone’s birthday (apart from family and my best friend) unless I have it written down in front of me.

The first gift was an eco-envelope which can be put to many uses, such as fun gift wrapping to be sent in the post, but I will be keeping this little number firmly in my own bag.  You can see that I have already unbuttoned it for closer inspection!  The second gift was from Helen - a Moleskine style notebook with a cover featuring a map of the border towns of New South Wales and Victoria, as Helen reasoned that as I've been travelling a fair bit over the past few months, it would be ideal to jot down my travel notes.

You can't buy these, because they are exclusively mine, but you can find similar wares at Ali's Etsy shop here.  Thank you so much girls and apologies for all the birthdays I have missed.

The BrisStyle committee meeting was pretty full on, with the BiDM being a matter of only three weeks away (eek!), and there was so much to discuss ...

... and decisions to be made.

Like what to eat for lunch.

I was going to make Vegemite sandwiches, until word got around that Bel was going to make a batch of macaroons.  That lifted the bar a little, so I changed the menu to fresh asparagus and fetta tart.  I am here to report that the macaroons were absolutely heavenly, unlike those seen in a certain TV kitchen competition show last week!

Of course, we needed all this fuel to give us the much needed stamina to finalise details for not only the 6 March BiDM, but  plans for an exciting year for BrisStyle.  Stay tuned.

Got to love February.