Spooky Halloween Graveyard Cupcakes

Only 9 days until Halloween! My major week of assignments is this week, and I am super excited for the big Halloween party next weekend, so I'm trying out a few cupcake recipes (I want to do a jack-o-lantern one too!) for me to bring to the party.

So, to make these super duper scary graveyard cupcakes, you'll need to bake up some chocolate cupcakes - I've used chocolate in order to create the allusion of dirk, but if chocolate is not your preference then, please, follow your heart and bake whatever you choose!

Pick up some ready-made icing (I used vanilla, but in hindsight fudge would have been best) and then, with a rolling pin, smash up half a packet of chocolate biscuits.

Smear over some icing, then press a handful of the smashed biscuits onto the cupcakes! There! You've made some deliciously scrumming and realistic dirt.

Next, you'll need some ready-made fondant, which is easy to get from your local supermarket, and cut out a sort of small rectangle, before shaping one edge to look like a gravestone. It doesn't matter if it breaks or tears a little - in fact, that'll make it look even more decrepit and old.

To write some creepy verses on your gravestones (think: RIP, Look Out!, Dead...) dip a toothpick into some red food colouring and write to your heart's content, before pressing the fondant pieces on the icing on your cupcakes. It's a little difficult, I'll admit, to write with a toothpick, but I think the slanted and slightly shaky style suits the theme, don't you?

I brought these cupcakes to last year's festivities as well, and am thinking of adding some more treats in the next week, so keep your eyes peeled! Any suggestions? What do you make on Halloween? xx

Wednesday Wisdom: Effort Never Betrays You

Effort never betrays you.

I really forgot about this in the last few months. I was putting in half the effort I should've been with nearly everything in my life, from friends to work to Uni, even to the tutoring I do with a little girl I absolutely adore. And it made me miserable not to be trying. I felt lazy, lacking energy, lacking zest.

The funny thing was, though, that I truly believed I was making an effort. I believe making an effort in one thing meant leaving the other things in my life by the wayside. I was working hard, and put minimal effort into seeing friends. I then lost purpose for work and tried to get back into the swing of exercise, but Uni work then took over. And now, coming up to exams, I seem to be spending a whole lot of (really lovely) time with friends the past few weeks, but University has gone out the window.

I'm struggling to keep afloat.

I read somewhere that 'Effort never betrays you', and somehow that thought has stuck to my brain with the veracity of an oyster on a rock. It's made me reevaluate my time, and made me waste a lot less time. I've gotten back into writing, into drawing, into Uni work, into TV shows, into friends, into work. I have a long way to go to get back to the zeal of life I had a while back, but I'm getting there, always remembering that if you want something badly enough, then you need to be prepared to put in the effort. I'm not going to get Distinction grades with a half-assed attitude. Nor am I going to reach my goal of reading over 37 books this year (37 being my achievement of last year). I'm not going to ever finish that scene if I don't put in the time and care, and I'm certainly not going to keep the strong holds of friendship if I don't make the effort.

There's a lot I left aside the last few months, but I'm raring to go and chase my dreams and balance my life out once again xx

The Tella Ball Shake

Bit late on the bandwagon but you'll forgive me when you taste how incredible these Tella Ball Shakes are from Woodcraft Espresso!

I first heard about these amazingly simple but genius creations from Buzzfeed, social media, even news sites were divulging the secret of the (previously) off-the-menu-in-the-know-only milkshakes. They. Are. Divine.

The little cafe is in an out of the way spot in Erskineville, and the service was incredibly welcoming. Granted, it was a rainy Thursday morning and there was no line (though there were more people than expected at 9am!), but we were introduced to the owner, who gave us the grand tour of the sweets cabinet as it was our first time there.

The shakes themselves were $10, and there were four different flavoured doughnuts and milkshakes. Considering the price of food these days, I found these an absolute bargain...especially when I can buy beloved tea for $4, I think a few more for an actual probably-won't-make-at-home drink is reasonable. I'm more than happy to pay for the faces my friend and I made as the drinks made their way to our table...

We were intending to try out some more savoury breakfast ideas too (hello, haloumi stack) but were so full we decided we'd just have to make an excuse to come back another time!

And, just when we thought we were done, the lovely wait staff popped two extra nutella balls free of charge for us as we were leaving! A truly memorable morning with wonderfully accommodating staff xx

Yep, they are THAT big!

Dress Ups

Halloween is right around the corner lovelies! The spooky, eerie night that happens (luckily) to fall on a Saturday this year.

I love dressing up, and over the past two years or so we've had plenty of cause to dress up and have some fun...but this year I'm at a loss! My aunty is hosting a big Halloween party (not that Halloween is that popular of a holiday here) and I need a great costume to scare and boogie the night away.

What do you call a hotdog with nothing inside it? A hollow-weeny!

Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance party? Because he had no body to go with!

Two monsters went to a Halloween party. Suddenly, one said to the other, "A lady just rolled her eyes at me. What should I do?"
The other monster replied, "Be a gentleman and roll them back to her."

Ok, ok, enough of my hilarity. Here are some of my favourite costumes over the past few years, but please comment on some fun costumes to give me some ideas!!!

^ I went as Prince Harry's bride to the theme, What do you want to be when you grow up!