Thursday, August 11, 2011

I'm still here I promise!

I'm sure by now you've probably been wondering "what on earth ever happen to that lovely girl from A Touch Of Sweetness".... I'm still here I promise!
I have to admit I have been feeling pretty down lately and life/ God/ the Universe is definatly testing me on how much rejection, frustration and depression I can handle before I crack! 

I feel so much is happening in my life at the moment that I'm just struggling to keep up with myself! 
I've always been one to handle pressure well but boy this time seems so much harder...SOO I need to turn my frawn upside down and pick myself up off the floor, wipe away my tears and.....

Have a lovely weekend my friends...

Ana


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Blue, White & Chocolate with a hint of Green....

Amidst all my studing, house renovations and mummy duties... I managed to pull off another very yummy dessert table for a sweet little boy 1st birthday. Noah's mum Dania is a friend of a friend who's now my new friend! :)
I was so excited when asked to create a little something special for her little man's 1st Birthday party. Dania gave me a picture of the cake she had in mind and the colour theme and design just grow from there.
And just have a look at this amazing cake! created by my extremely talented cake lady Mandy (same lady who created Anabelle's 1st Birthday cake)


And here's the dessert table...












































Dessert table design ,Dessert labels / Thank you tags / Birthday banner designed & created by:
A Touch of Sweetness

Dessert table featured:
- Chocolate Balls by A Touch of Sweetness
- Oreo Cookie Pops by A Touch of Sweetness
- Mars Bar Slice by A Touch of Sweetness
- Chocolate Crakels (made by Dania's sister in law Kerri)
- Lebanese Sweets
- Portuguese Custard Tarts from Honeymoon Patesserie

Suppliers:
Cake Stand from Sweet Style 


xoxo, Ana  

Friday, June 10, 2011

Project Dream House Begins!

Yipppee!!! Renovations have began! Few months ago we bought (what will be) our dream house!  
I am so excited about this new project and have been spending hours researching, googling and Pinning! (thank god for Pintrest!)
 Basically... the entire house needs renovating so we are doing it all! Kitchen, bathroom, laundry, bedrooms, hall way, adding a deck, adding a 4th bedroom (which will be our my office)! Oh! and we're also adding a walk in pantry!

Here are some lovely images that are currently inspiring me and helping me create a style for our new family haven....


Have you ever renovated or built a home before?... I'd love to hear what websites or blogs you recommend... :)

Enjoy...

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Introducing..... Sweet Style

I have had many enquiries about my recent post on my little Anabelle's party and most of them have been related to lovely little wooden spoons with Anabelle's name on it...






















They are a super cute way to personalise any party and the secret is simple... I purchased a lovely little rubber stamp from Sweet Style and you can order yours HERE!

Image via Sweet Style




Image via Sweet Style
 
OH! And did you see the beautiful cake stand I used for Anabelle's birthday cake?

Yep, also from Sweet Style 

I am a HUGE fan of Leanne who is the lovely lady behind Sweet Style and am so excited for her and her new website! Her online shop will be opening very soon where you can not only purchase some sweets, party favor bags but she will also be selling a beautiful array of cake stands - I've ordered mine and cannot wait to order more of the gorgeous collection she has available.
Make sure to also check out her blog, I'm a daily reader and just love her dessert tables & photography!

Congratulations Leanne! Wishing Sweet Style lots of "Sweet" Success! :D

xoxo, Ana


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Tiny Tots Toy Hire

What I wanted the most for my daughters 1st birthday party was for all the little kiddies to have FUN! And for the mum's & dad's not to be running around trying to keep the little ones in the same place! Sooooo.... Thanks to the wonderful world of Facebook I was thrilled when I found Tiny Tots Toy Hire.

I just love their variety of toys, playpens, ball pits, play tents & play houses! and that's just the beginging! 

Their toys are suitable for all areas big or small and are sure to be a hit with the kids! (and the parents!)

Here are some photo's of the kiddies from Anabelle's party doing what kids do best.... HAVE FUN!

Photography by Kelly Staveris

Photography by Kelly Staveris

Photography by Kelly Staveris

Photography by Kelly Staveris


Tiny Tots Toy Hire even hire out high chair and kiddie sized table & chairs, so naturally I cant wait for her next birthday to hire these gorgeous table & Chairs

Image via Tiny Tots Toy Hire

Special Thank you to Dalia from Tiny Tots Toy Hire ...& an even greater Thank you to my dear friend Kelly Staveris for being our photographer for the day. XOXO 


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Anabelle's 1st Birthday Party - My Little Sunshine....

I'm so excited to be able to finally share with you all some pictures of my little sunshine's 1st Birthday party which happened last Saturday 14th May... 

The theme as you may have already guessed was "My little Sunshine"... I have been singing that song to her even before she was born and her incredible smile always brightens up my day and warms my heart so this theme suited her just perfectly. 

I picked Pink & Yellow as the colour scheme as naturally yellow is for sunshine & pink is for girls! :)
I also think these colours look just gorgeous together and when you through in some stripes and polkadots its a perfect match!

I'm a huge fan of D.I.Y and love having a go at making things myself. But when it came to the invitations I just had to refer to the professionals... My lovely friends Natasha & Leanne from Sweet Style created the invitations and this gave me the inspiration for how I wanted to create and design everything else. 


The cake I have to say was my absolute favourite feature of the dessert table! Not to mention the cupcakes to match!



My cake lady Mandy is simply a hobbyist with a passion for cake decorating. (Amazing right!)
I can't tell you how excited I was went I picked up the cake & cupcakes! It felt like the "cheery on top for me!"
Her work is amazing and I just loved working with her to create this amazing cake! (Thank you Mandy) 

 


Rice Pudding (made by my mum) & Cookie Pops (made by me)






Raspberry & Lemon Macaroons &
Raspberry Cheesecake Tartlets (made by me)



I made my own sugar cookies and also handed them out to each of our party guest as a Thank you... I defiantly take my hat of to all cookie makers out there... not as easy as it looks! But not bad for my first ever attempt! :) 



Keeping with the theme the party favours where "Little Miss Sunshine" books for the girls and "Mr Happy" for the boys along with a lolly bag filled with pink & yellow bonbons

Here are some other lovely things I created for my angel's special day...

Table centrepieces with photo's of Anabelle throughout the year...
Photo Bunting Banner
 Drinks Table - Pink Lemonade! :) Yumm

 






My Little Sunshine Anabelle had an awesome day even though she's too little to remember it... I know for sure because she wouldn't stop smiling :) Happy Birthday my sweet angel.

As it was her 1st birthday I just had to go all out! but it wasn't without help... here's a list of the awesome suppliers I used to help create this gorgeous day...

Cake & Cupcakes - Mandy (You can contact me directly for her details)
Invitations, candy bon bons, cake stand, yellow ribbon, rubber stamp - Sweet Style
Polka dot Balloons, polka dot lanterns & yellow favor bags - Candy Soirees
Anabelle's Pettiskirt - Polka Dot Market 
Pink Honeycomb Tissue Fan -Love to Celebrate
Wooden Spoons & Bakers Twine - Polkadot Prints
Garden Toy play set & Playpen - Tiny Tots Toys Hire
Anabelle's yellow striped onesie - made by me (with a little help from the mother in law)
Styling, Bunting Banners, Photo Bunting banner, Favor Tags,
Dessert table tags,  water bottle labels, table centrepieces,
ALL desserts .... Made by me A Touch of Sweetness

A special thank you to my mum, mother in law & sister in law, for helping me cook up a feast! And to my father in law & hubby for their support and helping me set up... I couldn't have done it without you!

And lastly to Anabelle... Thank you for putting a smile on my face everyday!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

My Little Sunshine ... Anabelle

On Saturday my little Anabelle turned the BIG 1!!!! .... Although I cant just yet share the pictures from her fun filled special day I thought I'd share some pictures my little angel... 
I can't believe how fast a year has passed and how quickly she has grown... She is the light of my life, the air that I breath and my little ray of sunshine...






My sweet cheecky chicken thank you for giving me the most amazing, most challenging, most inspirational year of my life so far....I Love you more than words can explain
She's a little bit of Sunshine,
She's a smile to light our days.
She has captured our hearts & kept it warm with her endearing ways....

She's our precious little girl
with a sweetness from above
who will fill our years with laughter and our lives with lots of love.