Tiger Turned 3 this week and to celebrate, we partied, played and patrolled our galaxy with Buzz Lightyear at our local play centre. We even made a short YouTube clip to share the fun!
To infinity and beyond!
Party people
Tiger devouring his Buzz Lightyear ice-cream cake!
Cherry and her buddy Jem
 Proud mummy and daddy
It’s the school holidays and Cherry and Me visit the NGV to see the latest kids exhibition – Fake Food Park by Martà Guixé!
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We’ve been regularly visiting The National Gallery of Victoria ever since Cherry was a baby! Here are a few highlights from previous trips:
My latest addition to our kitchen… or should I say addiction… is a fully automatic coffee machine from Jura. The Jura has become part of our morning ritual and it will be a sad day when we hand it back after our one month loan to review!
Over the past few weeks, friends and family have loved dropping in for their coffee fix or even for a cheeky espresso martini on a Saturday evening! We’ve sampled a variety of coffee beans from our favourite roasteers and even the kids have had a play, creating their own hot chocolate recipe! We thought it would be super fun to share highlights of our Jura experience with a few YouTube clips. Enjoy!
We’ve saved a bundle on lattes, soy lattes and espressos at home! Just to compare, an average coffee pod costs around 68 cents a pop and a freshly ground brew in the Jura machine only costs 18 cents a shot!
What an incredibly fun month it’s been with the delicious aroma of freshly ground coffee wafting throughout the house and kick starting each morning with a cafe quality latte! Thank you to The Bean Bag coffee subscription for our home delivery! The beans from Flying West and the Sunshine Coast Coffee Roasteries were by far our favourites!
It’s not often the kids go away for the weekend and my husband and I head into the city for a date night followed by a sleep in the next morning and then maybe out for and uninterrupted brunch where we can slowly sip our coffee and enjoy at hot meal! Well, last night, we were super thrilled to venture into Melbourne city after dark to see The Sound of Music, musical. We even had time before the show for a cheeky Espresso Martini and express dumplings at Super Normal, a Flinders Lane hotspot I’ve been dying to try!
I recently re-watched the first half of the original film with Cherry who really seemed to enjoy it and now asks if we can watch it again together. She’s still a bit too young to sit through the production, but we did see quite a few children, a little older than her, there last night.
My husband and I were super impressed by the clever set design. Even though our seats were towards the back of the theatre, the backdrops looked so vibrant and real! But what was most impressive was the talent on stage. The cast sounded impeccable and so did the accompanying orchestra! We also loved the costumes as they felt classic yet more modernised than in the film.
The musical’s lyrics are clear to understand and the melodies are extremely uplifting, charming and catchy! The story line is easy to follow and suitable for all ages, although, the dark ending does provoke depressing memories of war times.
There were some well-known Australian actors on stage such as the multi-talented CAMERON DADDO who played the roll of Captain von Trapp, starring alongside MARINA PRIOR in the role of the Baroness Schraeder, LORRAINE BAYLY as Frau Schmidt, JACQUI DARK as Mother Abbess, and joining them in the coveted role of Maria is one of Australia’s newest and most outstanding award-winning musical theatre stars, AMY LEHPAMER.
The actual story line did differ from the film we recently watched but fit perfectly for a live, on-stage production. I woke up this morning with puffy eyes from all the tears I shed during the moving performance. I wept tears of happiness for the most part and tears of sadness at the end. I highly recommend going along to see this classic and beautiful love story.
Brought to you by Nuffnang
I’m feeling extra spoilt this Mother’s Day! This morning I woke a little later than usual with a warm cup of tea, a beautiful handmade card and giggly cuddles from my adoring family! (Follow us on Snapchat for hilarious and very real daily updates! @cherryandme)
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Holden & Kids Business invited a group of us bloggers to test drive a few of their latest models down to the Yarra Valley. Cherry and Me got to know the Holden Captiva very well and our new friends, Linda and Miss C from Family Capers, kept us company and very entertained on the scenic long drive!
Plugged in my phone and away we went! Loved the touch screen Sat-Nav! Please excuse the grubby phone screen…
We arrived at Oakridge Winery on the most glorious Autumn day!
Cherry and Me
A celler room table reserved for us for a Pickling Class with Chef Matt Stone
Little ladies learning the art of making Kim Chi
Mother’s Day blooms
Cinderella played with the kiddies while the mummies mingled
Incredible views of the Yarra Valley
Delicious lunch for us lucky ladies
Then off to play in the vineyard and take selfies with some Holdens
Home safe and sound. Thank you Holden for a fabulous Girls Day Out! Cannot wait to take another model for a spin soon! #HoldenMums
Last week we partied in the park for Cherry’s 5th birthday and this week we share how we made that gorgeous My Little Pony cake with a few simple steps!
Elle’s Cake Hack #1
Bake your cake layers in advance so they are cooled and ready to stack. We alternated with chocolate and vanilla packet mix cakes
Elle’s Cake Hack #2
Cover your cake tray with two overlapping sheets of baking paper. You’ll then be easily able to pull the sheets apart for a neat presentation. You’re welcome!
Elle’s Cake Hack #3
Whip store bought butter cream to fluff it up and make a little go a long way
Elle’s Cake Hack #4
Sprinkle candies in between the layers for a fun surprise
Elle’s Cake Hack #5
Flip the top cake upsidedown for a smooth, flat edge
Elle’s Cake Hack #6
Add a few drops of flavour to your butter cream. We used bubble-gum for the purple
Elle’s Cake Hack #7
Always spread a thin layer of butter cream to coat those crumbs before your final presentation layer
Elle’s Cake Hack #8
Use more than one colour and mix it up!
Elle’s Cake Hack #9
We sprinkled surprises through or butter cream for a extra cuteness
Elle’s Cake Hack #10
Make chocolate shards to top your cake! They’re easier to make than your think!
Elle’s Crazy Coloured Chocolate Shards
– Melt white chocolate melts in 3 small containers in the microwave
– Add food colouring (oil or powder works best with chocolate)
– Spoon the coloured blobs next to eachother on baking paper
– Use a chopstick to swirl the colours together
– Sprinkle candies, edible confetti, pearls, bananas, eyeballs… whatever you like!
– Cool in fridge for 15 minutes until set
– Smash it up or slice even shards
Elle’s Cake Hack #11
Melt equal parts of white chocolate and heavy cream, with a few drops of food dye, to drip yummy ganache all over and help stick your decorations on!
Elle’s Cake Hack #12
Take plenty of photos before your cake is devoured by all those little party people!
Elle’s Cake Hack #13
Elevate your cake on a cake stand to rise above the rest!
