Catchups, Cakes & Clowns!
The week got off to a good start when I was told Aum was going to Pontefract after school on Monday, so I had a nice coffee and cake at Costa with Abi in the afternoon, and then once I had picked Aum up and dropped him at home I was free to go back to my house for a bit of a break before my shift at the pub. We were really busy that night - I made triple the amount of tips I usually do!
On Tuesday I was able to lie in, as Aum wasn't back until half twelve, and then I took him into school for the afternoon so he was in a very good mood after such a shortened day. On Wednesday I went to the gym and did a proper workout which was good, and then in the evening I went to see The Vaccines with my friend Rick (see previous post). We went to Factory afterwards for a night out, and I bumped into the ex-boyfriend of a friend which was strange - he had completely changed! It was good to catch up, and Rick and I had a really good night, even though I got home at 4am and had to be in work at 7.45am!
Thursday was Aum's birthday, which got off to a great start when I locked my keys inside the house, forcing us to have to start walking to school whilst we waited for his mum to drive back from work to pass me a key! It worked out OK in the end though, and he loved his present from me which was a bonus. As they were going out for a meal after school, I finished once I had dropped him off in the morning, so promptly went back to bed to catch a bit more shut-eye!
On Friday after work I drove to Lancaster to see my friend Weronika. We were supposed to be going for a meal, but we decided to stay in and have some pizza and garlic bread at hers before going out for a couple of drinks. We met some friends in The Friary, where it was the rock and indie night which took me back to my Urbis days! Despite us intending going home fairly early, we managed to find our way onto the free guestlist for Sugarhouse so continued our night in there, before a group of us went back to Weronika's for an 'afterparty' which went on until 7.30am!
On Saturday we woke up at 10.30am, so I was completely knackered, but livened up a bit after having some scrambled eggs with toast and beans and getting ready. I drove into Manchester at 1pm, and Weronika came with me so we could do a bit of shopping. I bought some lilac hair dye, which is going to be my project for the Christmas holiday! On Saturday evening I went round to Emily and Smeed's where we made a cake for Aum's birthday party. (see previous post). It was nice just to chill out for once on a Saturday, and get a relatively early night.
Today I had a super lie in, and then got ready for Aum's party, which was at the Marriott. He had two entertainers called Kuki and Krumbs who kept the kids occupied, and then there was a mini disco, which a few parents joined in for! There was a bit of food for the adults (bagels and cupcakes etc) and drinks, and people were all chatting and enjoying themselves, so it was a nice day. I got home at half 6, and spent the rest of this evening watching TV and having a catch up on the phone with Lydia. A nicely varied weekend!
Volcano Cake!
Tomorrow is Aum's birthday party, and Emily and I had said we'd make his birthday cake. Sounds like a relatively easy task - except for the fact that he requested a 'volcano cake'! We made a normal chocolate cake (see recipe below) but made sure the top layer was a little smaller than the bottom, and we also made a few cupcakes with the leftover mixture to help with the construction!
Once it was all cooked and cooled, we made some buttercream (again see recipe below) and used it to sandwich the two cakes together, and using the cupcakes cut in half, we made a little stack on the top to add height to the 'volcano'. Then we put the buttercream all over the cake, which made it easier to mould into the shape we wanted.
By now it was starting to look like it was supposed to, then we just had to add the 'lava'. We used normal icing sugar, but didn't add quite so much water so it was a little less runny. Emily had some food colour pigments that we used, which are a lot more concentrated than traditional food colouring, and produce much better results (they are also easier to mix to create different shades etc). We managed to create a really good orange colour, and we literally just dropped spoonfuls of it onto the top so it dripped down the sides, creating an authentic effect. We did the same with yellow icing, and then using a cocktail stick dipped in red colouring, drew some streaks into both the orange and yellow lava paths for a finishing touch. After an hour in the fridge it was set and looked brilliant, and we even found some sparklers that we can put in the top on the day to make it look like it is erupting!
Cake Recipe
175g butter
300g caster sugar
3 eggs
200g plain flour
75g cocoa
200ml sour cream
50g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla essence
We also added 1 tsp orange flavouring to make it chocolate orange flavour!
Buttercream Recipe
75g butter
175g chocolate
300g icing sugar
125ml sour cream
The Vaccines
Last night I went with my friend Rick to watch The Vaccines at the Manchester Apollo (now known as the O2 Apollo). We had a few drinks in the bar beforehand, so didn't see the support acts, but of all three I hadn't heard of a single one! The band came on quite late I thought, at 9.45pm, but it worked out well for us as we had only arrived at around 9pm.
I saw them at Benicassim this year, but being rather drunk at the time, couldn't remember much apart from that they were really good! It was cool to see them again being slightly less intoxicated. They played a good mix of songs off the old and new albums - Wreckin' Bar (Rarara), Tiger Blood, Wetsuit, Post Break-Up Sex, If You Wanna, No Hope which they opened with, I Always Knew, Teenage Icon, A Lack Of Understanding, All In White, Blow It Up and a slow one that I don't really rate so I went to the bar during it!
They played about a 40 minute set, but then took a while to come back on for the encore, which left us feeling a little uneasy as to whether there was one... luckily for me it included Bad Mood (my fave off the new album) and Norgaard, another classic. Overall a top gig, and I bought a really nice vest top for a tenner as well - looking forward to wearing it!
Ceilidhs & Chippy Tea!
Another fairly quiet week, but it's been good as I've had a couple of easy days at work due to it being Diwali on Tuesday so I finished a few hours earlier (and I got given a huge box of Thorntons Continental!) and Aum having a playdate at a friend's house on Friday so I dropped him at school and finished for the weekend! Aside from working at the pub and doing the usual gymming, I didn't do anything sociable on weeknights week, which is probably for the best as I'm running very low on pennies at the moment!
On Friday Abi decided to come home from uni at the last minute, so the two of us went out in Alderley Edge to The Botanist for a couple of drinks. I drove as was leaving early on Saturday morning for Devon, but it was nice to get out of the house to somewhere with a bit of atmosphere. We were home by midnight which was ideal, so I got a decent sleep despite having to get up at 8am!
It took us just over 3.5 hours to get to Brixham in Devon, but Dad was driving so I could have a nice snooze on the drive there. We went to say hello to the Smiths (no, not the band) the family friends we were staying with, before going to our families house to catch up with everyone. There was definitely a house full! We then went back to where we were staying to get ready for the party, as it was my great auntie and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. We had been told it was a ceilidh (where an irish band play music and the guests are shown dances and then perform them) but weren't told about the 'barndance' dress code, so we were all in nice dresses whilst most were in cowboy boots and checked shirts! I wasn't too bothered though, I am often overdressed for family occasions, it's not like I shy away from attention!
It all kicked off at 7.30pm, and everyone quickly got into the spirit of things dancing away. I have never been to anything like it, but it was so much fun, and made the night very social as everyone spoke and danced with each other. As the night progressed everyone was more and more drunk and making mistakes which was hilarious! We had a break in the middle to eat some food, which was amazing - there was a choice of chilli, beef stronganoff, curry, a prawn and salmon creamy casserole and a couple of pasta dishes which you could have as much of as you wanted, and then there was chocolate torte, pavlova, fruit salad or trifle for dessert, and a cheeseboard! I was very full afterwards, and had to sit out the first dance, much to the compères dismay, as he'd taken quite a shine to me, and was ridiculing me in front of everyone!
The party ended at midnight, and we all took some cupcakes home to eat in the taxi which were delicious. I was really tired so pretty much went straight to bed, but the 'adults' stayed up until the early hours quaffing wine - I felt very clear headed compared to them this morning! We had bacon sandwiches and packed up, before saying our goodbyes to both houses and setting off for Timperley. It took us a little longer on the way home, but we were still back by 4pm, ready for a chippy tea and I'll be indulging in an early night I think!
Catchups, Cakes & Clowns!
Thursday was Aum's birthday, which got off to a great start when I locked my keys inside the house, forcing us to have to start walking to school whilst we waited for his mum to drive back from work to pass me a key! It worked out OK in the end though, and he loved his present from me which was a bonus. As they were going out for a meal after school, I finished once I had dropped him off in the morning, so promptly went back to bed to catch a bit more shut-eye!
