Happy Birthday Mum!!

wow, its been over a month since i last posted. darn it. i think next time exams come up, just before i'll make a load of posts in advance and then just load them up so you guys don't get that big a gap between posts.

hopefully, this set of posts will cheer you up!

it was my mum's birthday at the beginning of june, so my dad and i set out to make sure we made it special. her present is the culmination of several months work and planning, shopping and searching. we brought together a mix and match bone china tea set of mostly english origin, and laid it out for her birthday tea - an old fashioned english cream tea!

the set consisted of:
8 cups and saucers
6 side plates
cut glass butter dish
cut glass cake stand
2 tea pots
large sugar bowl
small sugar bowl
sterling silver cake slice
milk jug

no two peices are the same (well, except for a few) and it makes the whole set completely unique, and if one peice is broken it is very easy to replace!

for the meal we had:

champagne (for the adults!)
lemonade
cranberry juice (i don't drink fizzy drinks)

scones - no cream tea should be without freshly baked scones! we served them with butter, raspberry jam and clotted cream! :D

vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting - gave me an opportunity to test out my new piping nozzles, which i hope will make more of an appearance in the following posts.

chocolate birthday cake - well, my dad made the cake simply cause i had to make everything else! but i did use a new chocolate frosting recipe which i love love love and also used on the cupcakes.

triangle sandwiches - egg mayonnaise, poached salmon, ham salad. all on white bread with no crusts - i like my hair straight thank you very much!

then, a little quirky family tradition - mozarella, artichoke hearts and peppadew peppers. years and years ago at family birthdays my parents used to set out 'childrens' food and 'adults' food, however, my siblings and i decided enough is enough, and we requested to have adult food instead of party rings and cheese and pineapple on sticks. so now no family birthday is the same without them - even a posh english tea!

i'll do individual posts on the scones, cupcakes and cake - and i'll link them back to this one if i remember (if i forget, give me a poke and i'll see what i can do!)

i think i must have drank 4-5 cups of tea that day, kept me up all night!

sarahh xxx