Author: Anna Hogbin

Cake Vigilante {Part Three}

Good morning lovelies. 

It really is a treat to be here today. Thank you so much for stopping by.

As I write this post, reflecting on these beautiful images of something as simple as a decorated cake, I remember one of the happiest days I have had this year. These images are a labour of love, an expression of my idea of beauty. They bring me so much joy and as I mentioned in my last post, have ignited within me an adventurous spark and longing to explore my own backyard (and hopefully further afield) with a cake and a camera in my hands (but not at the same time! Ha). 

Hubby and I went out for breakky this week to a local beachside cafe. Sitting there sipping my coffee I couldn’t believe how fortunate we are to have such beauty at our doorstep. (Heck! How fortunate are we to actually be able to walk out our front door and even go to a cafe this week!) My imagination went into overdrive and I am already planning a low tide beach cake shoot. 

As life pressed in around us with a particularly tight squeeze this week, the contrast between hopes, dreams, imagination and all things good and beautiful and the harsher, more painful elements of reality couldn’t have been more stark. I have been thrown into the bleak void in the middle with no apparent connection between these two seemingly opposing truths of real life.

As a beautiful friend gently reminded me recently, no-one gets through life without pain and heartache in some measure. Sadly, it is very much a part of the deal. During those times, like this week, when life throws an unexpected curve ball, I have realised that there still is a place for coexistence between beauty and pain. In times of crises, superfluous things are filtered out and only the essential remain. An inbuilt survival mechanism I guess.

This week I learned two things. One, you need less than a handful of true, faithful sister friends to turn to when times get tough. Two, something as simple and exquisite as a pretty bunch of flowers (or a pretty cake) can lift your spirits enough to get you through a really difficult day. If you combine the two, friendship and beauty, both God given gifts and conduits for healing, you can be  strengthened enough to take the next step when your walk falters.

The older I get, the more I realise that life isn’t all about having loads of friends (or thousands of ‘followers’). I think we were essentially designed to have a few true sister friends who we can call on in difficult times, knowing without a doubt that they will be there when we need them.

I was so blessed this week, when I needed support and prayer, I knew exactly who to turn to, and these dear ones did not disappoint. One friend who lives far away sent me a picture of the most spectacular bright orange and yellow roses she found while doing her shopping. She knows me and knows how much I love bright colours. A simple message saying she wished she could bring a bunch of them to me blessed me so much.

Strength for the journey. 

Another friend turned up on my doorstep with a massive bunch of flowers for me, again, hand picked with the colours she knows I love.  As we hugged and cried I knew I would make it through.

Strength for the journey. 

Again, a distant sister friend sends late night texts of support, giving me freedom and a safe place to share confusion, doubt, anger and pain. Another asks if she can pray for me.

Strength for the journey. 

A tight hug from a compassionate son and shared tears with a young daughter.

Strength for the journey. 

These simple acts of kindness really ministered life and love to my bruised heart this week. As I look at the bright bunch of my favourite coloured flowers on the dining table, my creativity is once again stirred and I imagine the next  cake I would like to decorate with them. Even during tough times it’s good to let yourself dream and hope for good things. Feeling surrounded by so much love gives me the courage to believe I will make it through this challenge, and the next, and whatever else life throws my way. 

So, take courage dear hearts. You are not alone. Reach out when you need to. Turn to those who love you when times get tough. Be kind to yourself and make room for beauty when your heart is sore. It is a life giving tonic. 

Thanks for listening to my heart again this morning. And thank you for sharing in my grand cake adventure in the country! Oh what joy! 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you next week with a new cupcake recipe or perhaps a delightful vintage party to share.

Lots of love,

Anna xx

 

Cake Vigilante {Part Two}

Hello friends,

Oh what a glorious blustery day! I hope you all had a great week and have just poured a fresh cup of tea, ready to settle in for a wee chat. My heart goes out to those who are in lockdown at the moment. I hope this post provides a few moments pleasant diversion for you. 

I have a confession to make. You know how I had a bit of a whinge last week about camping down the coast when I’ve been trying sooo hard to get my kids out west. Well, its no surprise that we didn’t make it to Broken Hill. That would have been a miracle indeed. So, I was a big girl and graciously accepted that we would only chug an hour down the road instead. Now of course as there are more lockdowns happening, I am just so grateful that we could get that far.

To be honest I wasn’t expecting much. Beaches all look the same to me and I don’t find the surrounding scrub particularly stimulating. But boy was I in for a shock! This secluded little beach was absolutely stunning! WOW! the headland was incredible, the sunsets nothing short of glorious and the walks were straight out of a picture book. Yes, I will admit it. In all humility I hereby acknowledge that beach holidays can be pleasant, even for a country girl. (Ok ok, I realise you all already knew that!!)

The best part by far was that this was our inaugural trip with a vintage caravan purchased to get our family out and about creating memories. Some of you may know that we have been doing up my darling Dorothy, a 1961 Bondwood that is seriously the cutest thing you have ever seen (more on her another time). But this van is the family van, complete with bunks for two of the kiddos and the coolest turquoise vinyl seating and retro table top.

Just to back track a little, camping is something our family hasn’t ever done much of. About twenty years ago we tried it with a gaggle of kiddies, toddlers and babies and it was hideous. Apart from having zero appropriate camping gear, thinking it would be fun to squeeze into an overcrowded caravan park full of relaxed campers who actually knew what they were doing, we cleverly managed to coincide it with an above average heat wave in the peak of Summer. We call that particular trip the ‘horror holiday from hell’ and if it wasn’t for our dear friend’s rescue, hosting us in their tiny home with fans, cool drinks and movie afternoons, we would quite possibly be permanently traumatised and still in therapy.

Camping was always simply just too hard. Add eight children into the mix and there was no way we could pull it off and live to talk about it. So, now that half our family are adults and there are no more nappies, I figured it was time to try the holiday thing again. I also realised that the only way I could do it was to do it properly, and that means I need a room. A space. A proper bed, sink, cupboards and bug proof walls. But mainly, I need to decorate it and put my personality into it. Any creative will understand the drive to express! 

 We haven’t chosen a name for our 1973 Viscount yet, but I’m thinking Maggie, or Elsie, after one of our grandmothers. I’ll keep you posted. 

And oh glory be! I underestimated just how much I would  adore having this sweet little personal expression to live in for a few days!! I loved every minute. It was nothing short of delightful for this mama bear. The kids, not so much. 

Enter ‘The Cranks’.

On the first night as we sat cosily around our little vintage camp table and chairs literally metres from the shore line, I pleasantly asked the sweet treasures to tell us all one thing they enjoyed about our day. My heart was full from the many refreshments that being in a new environment (and an adorable vintage caravan) bring, and expectations were high.

“Huh, nothing” was the first disgruntled response. Incredulous!! But when the second dear teenager responded the same way I couldn’t believe it. You’ve got to be kidding me! They had been swimming, surfing, lazing in the sun, walking, eating, exploring, scootering….how can they say nothing?! Two of the four sweeties wanted to go home the next day, and were horrified to discover that the plan was to stay three more nights.

Thats when the cranks set in.

I won’t bore you with the dialogue, but any mother of teenagers will be familiar with it I’m sure. As I watched my hopes of Broken Hill slip further and further into the dusty red sunset, I struggled to comprehend such vehement, self imposed blindness to the beauty and richness of experience right in front of their eyes. Such ingratitude! 

One observation I have made with children who grow up on the coast, is that they can become spoilt and unaware of the privilege it is to live in such a beautiful part of our country. Growing up many hours from the beach, it was always such a huge deal for us to go to the coast for a holiday. But when you live fifteen minutes from some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, I guess it’s easy to take it all for granted. Combine that with hormonal immaturity, then I guess I can see why I got that response. Well actually, no I still can’t, but in the words of an eloquent fifteen year old…whatever.

Long story short, for a few different reasons, we ended up taking the cranks home early and once they were out of the way the rest of us had a wonderful holiday together.

(disclaimer: there were other adults at home to supervise the teenagers so they were not left to their own devices, and yes, I still like my children.)

The whole time I was away, I was daydreaming about another cake road trip. With keen eyes and a renewed awakening for the beauty right in front of me, I saw potential in the scrub land and promise in the tidal puddles. I was indeed humbled by our little sojourn to the beach and want to explore the landscape that is around me once again with a rustic table and cake! 

Looking over these photos I see so much creativity in the details. A neglected wall with peeling paint, a forgotten and overgrown railway or a worn pathway through the dry grass, so much beauty in the ordinary that can captivate us if we know how to look at it. The same cake photographed in different settings, from different angles, all telling their own unique story. Somehow, I feel something new and exciting has been birthed inside my heart and imagination and all I can think of is how much I want to run and explore and do it all again!

See you next week. 

Lots of love,

Anna xx

Cake Vigilante {Part One}

Hello Lovelies! Thanks for visiting today. I am so happy to be here. This is a post I have been quite excited about sharing.  If you have been hanging out with me over on Instagram you would have heard me talk of a recent road trip I went on with one of my cakes. Yes, that’s cake, not kids! Sounds a bit crazy I know, but it was something I have wanted to do for years.  

Even though I have now lived on the coast for more than half of my life, I still consider myself a country girl at heart. Growing up in a large country town, I feel more at home surrounded by wild grass and cockatoos than the big ocean blue. I know I’ve just lost half of you right there, and I must sound like an ungrateful twat, but everybody knows that you can take the girl out of the country, but not the country out of the girl. 

Over the years on the rare times we have driven over the mountains, my imagination has always come alive and I am spellbound by the beauty of the wide brown land. I was talking to a friend’s husband recently about my futile attempts to get my family out to Broken Hill for an Aussie road trip out west, which is another one of my long held dreams. No matter how much I try to share my enthusiasm for the beauty of the vast open plains, they refuse to see it as anything other than torture. SO narrow minded! Humpf!! It completely drives me crazy! Anyway, as I was sharing my lament, he said something very profound which has really stuck with me. “Well Anna, you are an artist and you notice things other people don’t see when you are driving along, like textures and colours. The kid’s don’t see those things.”

Ahhh yes, I guess that explains why I get so excited about dead trees (glorious sculptures reaching to the heavens) and drought ridden paddocks. But still!! Any of you who are over 45 should remember driving long distances on holidays as kids with nothing to do but look out the window and listen to tapes on your walkman. It’s precisely in those times of boredom that we have our most profound thoughts, dream great dreams and our imaginations are ignited.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on my progress with Broken Hill. At this stage, with one week left of the holidays, the best I am managing to muster up for the family getaway is a trip an hour down the coast to another beach (sigh…really!? that’s the best we can do? Ugh.) Actually, even that is seeming too hard (insert eye roll). I’ll let you know if we make it out the door.

Ok. I am an ungrateful twat. I will own it.

Ok, back to my road trip. It has been on these country drives that I imagined little photo shoots with a cake, or ideally a whole dessert table, set up in some random farmer’s ploughed paddock or an abandoned old house. The more rustic the better. Each time I saw such creative potential my heart would leap inside my overly emotional heart and I would convince myself that one day, one day I am going to just do it.  Of course I don’t have the courage to actually face a real farmer and ask him if I can do such a silly thing on his property, so when I had the opportunity to finally run away from home by myself, I resolved to do a covert op and carry out my mission (should I choose to accept it) in stealth and secrecy. Yes! I would be the cake vigilante. 

The plan was this…drive along with eyes peeled until I saw a suitably photogenic place to stop where I could pull off the road easily and safely. I packed only a few rustic props and had the cake all boxed up. After the first stop I realised how fortunate I was to be driving a huge van, because I could pull over and the van acted as a shield between myself and the road. It also gave me a sense of privacy and made me feel safe from any scary farmers who might pull into their dusty driveways (where I was usually parked) and growl at me. 

After the first stop I was beside myself with excitement. It was such a success. I literally couldn’t get the smile off my face. I was beaming, feeling so alive and creative, like I was doing exactly what I was designed to do, flourishing in my God given gifts. Not to sound overly dramatic, but in the solitude I began to recognise a familiar old friend emerging. I wasn’t Mum. I wasn’t even a wife. I was simply Anna. I was me. I felt like the whimsical teenage dreamer I used to be, full of unhindered joy and unbridled delight.  Being a stay at home mum for almost thirty years so far, with another nine to go, it has been a challenge to carve out my own identity and maintain a healthy sense of who I am in amongst the joys and responsibilities of motherhood. But with each stop, a little bit more of my ‘inner AnnE’ (with an E) was breaking through, and I welcomed her with affection.

Sometimes all we need is to break out of the mama mould for a minute. Motherhood is a long haul, and while it is undoubtedly the greatest joy and privilege of my life, it is still a long haul. I know for me, I have needed to come up for air. To notice the world around me and look up from the often mundane chores that seem endless and fruitless, but in essence are essential in keeping the the family train chugging along smoothly. It didn’t take much, and it cost even less. One day. One day out doing what I love to do. One day allowing my free spirited nature to chase a dream and create beauty out of the ordinary. I tell you that drive filled up my tank and breathed life into my very soul. I might not be in a position right now to completely spread my wings and fly off into all that is in my creative heart to do, but as one dear friend often reminds me, it’s important to keep stretching those wings, to take moments to exercise and expand them just to remind ourselves that they are there and one day, when the time is right, they will be strong enough to make us soar.  

Thanks again for listening to my rambles, my heart. I know we are all on different journeys, but right now this is mine. Thank you for allowing me the time and space to share it. 

Lots of love,

Anna xx

RECIPE || Pina Colada Cupcakes

Hello Lovelies, how has your week been? Another topsy turvy one with Covid wreaking havoc once again. We had our daughter’s 18th planned for today, but needed to cancel as most of her friends were coming from Sydney. As it turns out, we are enjoying glorious rain this weekend anyway, so in a word phew! Not the best weekend for a party as it turns out. 

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Sweet Noah

Hello friends,

It’s so nice to be back here with you. I want to thank you for all of the love and support you showed as we remembered our sweet heavenly son Noah this month. I was really touched by your kindness and comments. It might not seem like much, but those small acts of reaching out in love and compassion make all the difference in the lonely, lifelong journey of grief.

As of this week, those anniversaries are over now for another year, thank goodness. We have been through it for 19 years so far. It is always a difficult time, no matter how many years pass by. I am usually chugging along quite well through May, and even into early June. Every year I always wonder if this will be the year I get through unscathed, but sure enough, every single year that deep well of sadness opens up and rises slowly through my tender heart demanding attention. It consumes my emotions first, then my energy, my thoughts and finally my ability to think and concentrate. It is all consuming. Thankfully, these times are now a lot shorter and less brutal.

There are so many precious mamas out there who are in different stages of grieving the loss of their child or children. From those first few years of inconsolable heartbreak when grief grips you so tightly around the neck you feel like you can’t breathe, to the dull ache of seasoned grief which ebbs and flows like a continual tide but never quite abates, and all the long, confusing years in between. Grief is here to stay and although it changes over time, it is a constant presence for the rest of your life.

In those early years, the intensity of my grief was quite overwhelming and debilitating. You think you will never get through it and your life is all but over. You wonder how you can still be breathing when your heart has been ripped out. But as the years pass you gradually have more space in between the consuming pain and sadness, until eventually your heart begins to fill up with love and life again and its only occasionally, in times like anniversaries, that your loss rises up familiarly to greet you. It stays for a while, and if you wisely choose to let it runs its course, instead of pushing it away, the grief will recede again into the secret place of the heart, and you keep on walking forward.  But it does demand that you sit and embrace it. Every time. There’s no getting around it. This is the new normal.

It’s hard to learn to live with grief, but over the years, I have realised that you can. It is true that you will never again be the same person you were before you lost your darling, but there does come a time when you begin to co exist with the loss. I was going to write accept the loss, but upon reflection I don’t think you ever really do. How can you accept that you will never hold your child again or that your son will never get married or have children of his own? No, I will never be able to accept that. But by the grace of God I can live with it. 

If you would like to read Noah’s story about his brief earthly life, you can read it  here . It is a heartbreaking story, like so many others. His story is interwoven into  every fibre of my being now. It shapes my identity and affects my life profoundly. Through it all though, even at the most difficult times, I am still so glad that I had my son. It was only for nine months in the womb and 11 days earth side, but I carried him in my body and had the privilege of delivering him, feeling his warm body on my skin, hearing him cry and breastfeeding less than a handful of times. I am so keenly aware that not every grieving mama has been given these gifts and I do treasure them.

I am so grateful for his little life. I thank God for choosing me to be his mama. I can honestly say that I am also happy that he is and forever will be with Jesus in Heaven. He is safe. He is home. And I like to imagine that he is planting a garden near my heavenly house with all of the brightly coloured flowers he knows I will love and is longing to welcome me home when my time comes. I still have my darling son. We are apart for a little while now, but I still have him forever. He will always be mine. He is uncorrupted and perfect and close to the Father. He will always be my son and I will always be his mother. 

One year and 3 days after we buried our precious Noah, I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl Lillian, the first of five more daughters. She was like sunshine bursting into my heart, bringing healing in her rays. On Thursday this week our Lily turned 18. She is living a full life, a life that she may not have been given if our darling boy had lived. There is much I am grateful for. 

Once again, thank you so much for listening to my heart. A precious friend reminded me this week that writing cements something. It makes our thoughts tangible and concrete, helping us to process and find perspective. It marks our place in the world and validates our story. It has been an honour to share a small part of my journey with you. 

And now, back to cake! Next week I think it’s finally time to share my super delish Pina Colada cupcake recipe with you! I tried really hard to wait till Summer, but I just can’t. It’s too scrumptious not to share now. So make sure you pop in again next Saturday ready to bake up a treat. 

Don’t forget to say hello, leave a comment and share a bit of your story with me. I’d love to hear from you.

Lots of love,

Anna xx

To Dream a Little Dream

Hello friends,

I hope you have all had a great week. Is anyone else looooving the cooler change in the weather? FINALLY!! Let’s hope it settles in and gives me a good reason to get out some winter clothes. Walking around in the cool, crisp air really makes me feel alive. My energy is always revitalised with the absence of sweating (ugh) and the life sucking lethargy of summer. Yep, I’m a winter girl through and through. But that’s just me. I realise most of you humans prefer stinking rotten heat. (I’ve got my eyezzz on you Suzy!! )

Speaking of feeling alive, at the beginning of the year I paid a little visit to my lovely doctor to talk about the big M and she gave me some great advice. When dealing with a dramatic life change like menopause, it’s imperative to pave a pathway for yourself through it. You must incorporate self care into your life. Especially as mothers, I think it is easy for us to continue to put everyone else’s needs first and risk running ourselves into the ground, eventually having nothing healthy to offer our loved ones.

My doctor’s words were a wake up call to me. To survive menopause I would need to make some changes. I need to carve out time and be intentional about doing whatever I need to do to fill up my tank. This looks different for everyone, but for me, fueling my creativity and having an outlet for the billion ideas that continually swirl around in my overactive imagination is my number one tank filler. No matter how small the project, or how limited my free time is, I am choosing to walk forward and give myself permission to create. This decision has been quite liberating.

While I have those big dreams like writing a book, selling  faaaabulous cupcakes from my divine 1960’s Danish glove counter that is waiting ohh so patiently for the right time, for now I am roping in those starbursts (or more accurately, flinging them heavenward towards Jesus for safe keeping), and looking around to see what is in my hands now. 

Hello blog!

In this season with so many bodies still in the house, my time and attention is still pretty much taken up with caring for my family, but what I can do, is bake and photograph cupcakes each week and write letters to all my friends here in my happy place. For that, I have all I need at my fingertips. By turning up each week and practicing baking, photography, styling and storytelling, my skills are developing and I begin to flourish in my divine God given design. This is who I am created to be.  As I give those interests, ideas, passions and desires room to breathe, I am coming more fully into alignment with my unique purpose and destiny.

I heard a quote the other day, which jumped straight into my heart.

“Dreams are God’s way of showing us His plans”  

The things that we are naturally passionate about, that burn deep inside us and make our heart skip a beat are there for a reason. We need to pay attention to what it is that fuels our soul and makes us want to burst. (Unless of course you are one of those unexcitable, steady people who never burst, kinda like the lovely man I am married to. If that’s the case, then sorry, I have no idea how your brains works.)

As we stop and notice the things that make us feel fully alive, we are aligning ourselves with our own individual, personally crafted, God given design. These are clues which often hold the keys to our identity and purpose. As we embrace that uniqueness, instead of pushing it aside or even feeling ashamed of those aspects of our character, we are able to move forward with more confidence into who God created us to be.  

I mentioned last week that I was hoping to write a post about our heavenly son Noah. As you can imagine, it was a tough week remembering his birthday and I wasn’t quite up to diving into the open wound. Sometimes distraction and tender self care are the best methods to ride out the pain. However, as baking and photography fill up my creative tank, I made the cutest memorial cupcakes and did a sweet little photo shoot that I will post next week. You may have had a sneak peak of these on my social media. They were just sooo pretty! I can’t wait to show you. 

So, thanks again for joining me today. I cannot tell you how loved up I feel with all of your kind comments and virtual head nods in agreement with my last post about the dilemmas of the school run. Phew! It looks like I’m not the only mama out there dealing with shoe and sock trauma. As one dear reader commented…’motherhood sure isn’t boring’. I would like to add to that statement…life isn’t boring. It’s a tremendous gift and we all have a part to play in making it fabulous! So, find out what makes your heart soar, what makes you beautifully unique, embrace it and start walking towards it. You never know where those wings will take you.

See you next week.

Don’t forget to leave a comment, introduce yourself and say hello. I’d love to hear from you.

Lots of love,

Anna xx

Let Them Eat Cake

Hello Lovelies. How was your week? Mine was full of the usual ups and downs… a few high points, which I will tell you about in a moment, and more than a few episodes that left me shaking my head in disbelief, wondering if this is normal motherhood. Let me explain.

Have you ever had one of those mornings getting kids ready for school when out of the blue all hell breaks loose and suddenly you find yourself in a war zone all before 8:00am? I am relatively new to the whole school routine, but have heard mums talking about the before school stress and always thought ‘oh how hard could it be?!’ OK. well, now I know! This week we had such a hoo haa that I almost had a breakdown before breakfast and it took me all day to recover. After dropping the sweet treasures to school, I headed to the gym, parked out the front, stared into space for fifteen minutes, then drove home, made a pot of tea and rebelliously, ate a corned beef sandwich. 

Oh glory. I think that sandwich was the best thing I have eaten in months. Don’t you miss the days when eating a sandwich was normal. No guilt, no carb-oh-phobia (carbs! nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things, make you fat), no judgement, just soft fresh bread with a slab of meat, cheese and relish and not a scrap of salad in sight. Pure 80’s school lunch box bliss. Sigh. Ahh, they were the good old days.

I digress.

As I sat shell shocked munching on my divine comfort food, I was wondering how mothers survive doing the whole school routine for years and years. Or maybe I am the only mother whose household erupts into manic mayhem with no apparent trigger greater than being unable to find socks, or a child wearing a sibling’s shoes. 

Speaking of shoes, the morning after I lost my way eating carbs, we were getting ready for a school sports carnival, when meltdown number 65 exploded over unsuitable footwear. Being the attentive mother I am, I didn’t even realise they had a carnival on till that morning.  All of a sudden she who shall not be named decided that there was literally no way she could run in her (perfectly acceptable) sport shoes. WELL! After tears and fruitless negotiations, we finally convinced you know who that it was all going to be ok and managed to get four young females into the car.

Driving into town I started to relax, feeling a bit pleased with myself for the shoe victory and was looking forward to going to the gym (actually no, that’s an exaggeration, I never look forward to it… I was really having an internal dialogue that went something like this “just go, don’t think about it, just get out of the car and go..you can do it, then you can reward yourself with a coffee.”).

We were almost at the school, and lining up behind the millionth car in the usual morning traffic jam that now dictates the crawl into our town, when someone noticed that she who shall not be named was barefoot!! How did I miss this!? WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES!? I whisper quietly with my usual impeccable self control, before realising that you know who didn’t bring them! You’ve got to be kidding me. So, I drop the other three at school, turn the car around, say farewell to the gym again and drive back home with little miss singing sweetly in the back seat.

Seriously mamas, is this normal?! Or is there some divine plot to send all mamas crazy in the head with the slow drip, drip, drip of tiny incident after medium meltdown after colossal catastrophe, all in the same week and usually over the big issues in life, like shoes, lunch box options, missing socks and my personal favourite, trying to catch the bus on time. 

Ahhhh…ANYWAY! Ha! Best to keep it all in perspective hey!?

Despite my uptake of carbs, low take on the gym and intake of too much kiddie stress, my week wasn’t a total disaster. The best news of all is that we finally brought our vintage caravan Dorothy home from getting her final reno touches done. Oh my beating heart! (Boom! BOOM!) She is a dream! So now the fun part begins where I unpack all the vintage treasures I have set aside for her and play doll house. Keep an eye on her very own instagram account (@mydarling_dorothy) for styling updates and all the creative goss. The first plan is to get baking and set up a little photo shoot (yippee!)

And now a word about these little vintage sweeties. I was given the colour scheme by my client and the more pretty ruffles I piped the more they reminded me of Marie Antoinette and her opulent court.  Frills, ruffles and feathers adorn the cupcakes  with complementary dried flowers, macarons and pearls. What’s not to love? Oui! 

So, thanks again for calling in for our weekly catch up. I hope you have enjoyed my pretty cupcakes and at the very least, can go away feeling like a better mum than me because I know you would never have such unruliness in your household.

Next week I hope to share a heartfelt post (with more pretty cupcakes ) as we remember what would have been our dear heavenly son Noah’s 19th birthday on Monday. I look forward to seeing you here.

As always, I’d really love to hear from you, so say hello and leave a comment below.

Until next week, 

Love Anna xx

RECIPE || Lemon & Blueberry Muffins

Hello Lovelies,

How has your week been? I felt like a giddy school girl working on my post last week and couldn’t be happier with how well it has been received. So a hearty thank you to all of you beautiful people who are celebrating this wonderful new season with me.

My mind is brimming with new recipe ideas and I have been in the kitchen testing them on unsuspecting visitors.  Last weekend I made the most delicious Sticky Date cupcakes with butterscotch sauce. The good news about these sweeties is that they are completely refined sugar free and you would never know it. I thought they would make the perfect wintery treat now that the days are finally starting to cool down. So, keep an eye out for the recipe in coming weeks. 

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A Time for Everything

Hello Lovelies,

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to spend a few minutes with me. I am so happy you are here. It has certainly been a long time.  My last blog post was in December 2018 and it feels like an age has passed since then.  I cannot tell you how excited I am to be back.  As with all of life, the journey has been long and winding with many twists and turns.  A lot has changed in our lives and family over the past two years and I want to give you a good catch up while also sharing my vision for Mama Bear’s Kitchen in this new season.  I promise you this post won’t be long and tedious, but you might want to make a hot pot of tea and get comfy.  Sit back and enjoy looking at some of my favourite cupcakes while I share my heart with you.

As some of you may know, for almost twenty years we have been pastoring a local church and homeschooling our large brood of eight children (plus one heavenly son). You may correctly suspect that such an intense lifestyle doesn’t leave a lot of time for indulgences like blogging. Two and a half years ago I decided to put this creative outlet aside to focus on my family. While still enjoying making a few cakes, cupcakes and styling parties here and there, I ceased my weekly blog posts. In 2019 the tide turned somewhat and two major shifts took place in our lives. The church closed down and our homeschooling journey came to an end. While these were difficult decisions to make, I look back now at the hand of God in it all and see His tender care in looking after one very weary Mama bear (Can I hear an Amen!?)

While it has taken many months of adjustment and trying to figure out our new normal, I now I find myself in the joyous and privileged position of experiencing life as a full time school mum. Woo Hoo! We have four children in school, two adult children still living with us and the best news by far is that our oldest son, his wife and two grandchildren also live in a cottage on our property. The only one who has flown the coop is our eldest daughter in Sydney. I realise all this still sounds crazy busy, but at least I get those oh so glorious hours during the day where I can be alone and breathe. So here I am, after 26 years of motherhood so far, with another decade to go, for the first time knowing what it is to put my wee kiddies on the bus and come home to an (albeit crazy messy), empty house.  Forgive me while I pick myself up off the floor! Oh what bliss! 

I can hear the birds singing outside, watch the wind rustle in the trees and sit for more than thirty seconds without being interrupted. Somehow though, without even realising what has happened, I look up now and see someone I hardly recognise. I have emerged as a 51 year old menopausal mother of mostly teenage girls (!) and grown up children,  with no nappy or pram in sight. Instead of books and art supplies we are now dealing with boyfriends and attitude.  Learner drivers and hot flushes are the new normal. Vegan, Keto, no sugar and vegetarian diets battle it out over the family meal table and long gone are the days when tiny faces light up over mama bear’s not so legendary bangers and mash for dinner.

Oh my.  How the times have changed. It takes courage to face these new challenges. Courage and a whole lot of faith. Wisdom to know when to lean in, when to step back, when to loosen the grip and most poignantly, how to accept the inevitable invisibility with grace and maturity.

Through it all, I am moving forward with anticipation of wonderful things to come. New freedoms, reignited dreams, privacy (well, I’m still working on that one. Trying to have a bath last night I was literally interrupted five times) and grand creative ventures.            

The Lord has shown me that I am now entering a season of renewal. Renewal of my health, of time, energy, healing, and renewal of my heart and mind. I am now able to stop running, slow down and change pace.  Most excitedly, there will also be renewal of my dreams….and I have oh so many dreams.  

We are now the proud owners of an adorable 1960’s vintage Bondwood caravan, affectionately called Dorothy. She is currently getting refurbished and when she’s done she will be incredible. I am so in love! My heart is to combine my love of cakes, pretty vintage treasures, photography and styling and do the most fabulous photo shoots, pop up appearances and create the cutest vintage tea parties, baby showers and small celebrations with her. 

Rumbling through my brain are other long term visions and dreams, including writing a book on themed vintage dessert tables with delicious cupcake recipes and party styling inspiration. I have my sight set on collaborative photo shoots with some fabulous hippy brands I love and even one day selling my boutique cupcakes from a local creative studio. Oh glory be!

Anyway, best to keep my head out of the clouds and feet on the ground for now.

The long and the short of it is that I’m back. Back here in blog land with much to share  about life, cake and creative passions.  I’m enjoying my time in the kitchen again and experimenting with delicious cupcake flavour combinations  (Pina Colada cupcake anyone!?) I will share some beautiful cupcake and cake photos along with recipes, stories of my journey and glorious news about magazine features, collaborations, photo shoots and cute vintage parties to inspire you.  Additionally, I aim to recreate some of my favourite baker’s recipes to share the cake love.  As before, I will post weekly on Saturday mornings. Keep an eye out on Instagram (@mamabears_kitchen), my preferred social media hangout for updates. 

Finally, a few words about these pink vintage sweeties. Don’t you just love the colours? And aren’t the roses a match made in heaven?! These are femininity in cupcake form. Dulche de leche cupcakes with caramel Swiss meringue buttercream decorated with buttercream roses and dried flowers. Keep an eye out for the recipe. Incidentally, who else is loving the dried flower trend at the moment? I can’t get enough of it and I hope it lasts a good long while yet. 

This week I had fun in the kitchen perfecting and photographing my Pina Colada cupcakes which I’ll share with you soon.  Next week however, I’ve got the best ever lemon and blueberry muffin recipe which is being zealously guarded by the naughtiest puppet around. 

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. I really appreciate every single person who reads my humble posts. If you have made it this far, I’d love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions for cupcake flavours you’d like me to try, so please leave a comment below. 

Take care and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,

Anna xx

 

An Aussie Christmas Dessert table

Well hello lovely friends, it’s so wonderful to be back. I needed to take a few weeks off blogging to give myself a little creative breathing space. I enjoyed slowing down and even managed to do a few recipe shoots, so keep an eye out in the New Year for some delicious Summery baked treats.

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