Birthday Cake Series: #4

P will soon be 4, but the real cake #4 is actually Baby I's cake #1. Since I only ever make cakes for my boys birthdays, I will stay with chronological numbering, which basically means, cake #4 of my life.

You have already seen a glimpse of this cake here, but I will tell you now how it was made. See, unlike Cake#1 which was a no-bake cake, Cake #2 which wasn't really a cake at all, and Cake #3 which was a super cool mostly no-bake cake p is still talking about, cake #4 was my first REAL, made-from-scratch, baked cake.

The recipe I used was the Funfetti cake, and it is really tasty. It is a simple, no fuss recipe for a great looking cake and it was supposed to look like this:

but for reasons exceeding my culinary knowledge, it came out like this:

The sprinkles we have here don't seem to be very good ones, so they bled all over batter as soon as I put them in. The recipe also calls for bleached flour which I never even knew existed. All considered, the cake still came out perfect. It looked just the way I imagined it on the outside, and it tasted great!

I also decorated some Oreos with leftover icing and sprinkles. Boys probably loved that part best.

The cake wasn't bad either though

Bella loved it too:)

Shopping for glasses

Yes, I wear glasses.
No, I'm not trying to be a hipster, I actually need them.

I've been wearing eyeglasses since I was 19 when I suddenly realized I can't read billboards from across the road. My mom thinks this unhappy occurrence is due to the fact I fell on my head when I was, say, 17. I say it was bound to be! See, since I can remember I wanted to wear glasses. Hipsterism was not invented, yet every year during the yearly checkup I remember standing in line and praying to God and Angels to give me: bad sight?!? What was wrong with me, nobody knows. Twenty something years ago it was completely uncool to wear glasses. It was dorky and embarrassing, yet I wanted it so badly that years later, when I was really in need of an eyeglasses prescription nobody would give it to me because they thought I was making it up.

So, when I finally found an optometrist who stared into my eyes once and  decided I did indeed need glasses I was confronted with my worst nightmare: THE CHOICE. Seriously, how is one supposed to choose only ONE frame and wear it over and over and over again, day by day by day. In my years of longing to be bespectacled I used to imagine having different frames for every outfit and every occasion. When the moment of bespectacleness came I had to realize that was not going to happen. What a slap in the face, right? Not only my eyes were bad, I had to settle for one accessory to wear all the time, for years to come. And that is not all...did I tell you I hate shopping? I have this problem of indecisiveness, especially if an item of this sort is in question. Having sales people bringing more and more frames to me and expecting me to make a choice does not help my condition. 

To tell you the truth, I am playing with the idea of online eyeglasses. Has any of you done that yet? Any advices?

Just look how sophisticated I look on this photo. I just tried over 20 pairs of frames from my armchair at home. Beats sweating at the shop for sure. Frames I like the most look lame on me both virtually and in real life, so I'm thinking this tool is pretty cool. Try it out below! They also have a test that will tell you if you are a FASHIONISTA, like me and narrow the frames selection for you accordingly.

If you find something that you like here is a perk for you, GlassesUSA is offering my readers 15% off your entire order amount + FREE shipping (orders over $50) with code: FS15 (storewide offer) or 10% off any order of prescription glasses with code: Blog10

This post is sponsored by GlassesUSA.com

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY: BIMBA GIVEAWAY

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Carnival series with: ME

Today it is my turn :)

What do you and your family do for carnival?

This year we are spending Carnival in Croatia, so on Saturday we visited a carnival in a small town of Samobor and I took the kids to a masked ball in the library. When I was a little girl we used to put our costumes on and went door to door, sort of like trick or treating for Halloween, only we did it on Ash Tuesday.

Do you all dress up, or just kids?

We mostly just throw on a wig or a crown:))


 Any special foods?

Enormous amounts of donuts!

P is wearing a Villa Carton pirate costume.

Carnival series with Beatrix Bohony from Marbushka

 I am so happy to have a chance to host the carnival series with these incredibly creative moms. Today we have with us Beatrix from Marbushka. She made the most amazing costume for her daughter last year, have a look!

What do you and your family do for carnival?

We’re very excited for Carnival. Bojka because she wants to be the prettiest, and me because I want to turn even her wildest ideas into a reality. Making the „night” costume was a serious challenge, but I accepted it because I liked that she came up with such an extreme idea. 

This was the gaudiest one so far, thought it is true that there were signs that Carnival time would be difficult in my life… e.g. earlier she gave me a hard task by wanting to be a rose bush, and making that wasn’t simple either. Plus I wouldn’t have thought there could be more… But it’s very enjoyable that Bojka wants to actively participate in creating the costume. It’s a joy to watch how she creates her concrete ideas (or parts of them) more and more independently.

Do you all dress up, or just kids?

We grown-ups don’t usually dress up, but I have to admit she put a bug in my ear now. I imagined the possibilities, what I would choose… the idea got me quite excited. Earlier we had a face-painting party, but it’s not the same. I don’t know whether I’d be as creative as Bojka. I’m sure I’d ask her advice on what kind of costume I should choose.

Any special foods?

We don’t have particular traditions regarding holiday foods. We give it our all every day, at every dinner, so it will be a worthy, relaxing end to a day, so somehow only the bigger holidays leave their mark on our culinary habits. We love carnival donuts without reservation nonetheless. :-)

This is incredible Beatrix, thank you!

Read posts from others in the series!

Find me on Eastok Europe, where I talk about Eastern European carnivals!

Boxy the Robot

Hi there, I am Boxy the Robot!

 

They made me out of boxes, egg cartons, Makedo connectors,  floral wire and they even some Christmas led lamps into my head.

P also made me a trunk to carry his Teddy Bear friend we had visiting from his kindergarten.

Friends.

Hm...Do I dare?

Masked cameras

Since we are in Carnival season, why not mask your cameras. These are so cute:)

 

via

Read my Carnival series!

Find me on Eastok Europe, where I talk about Eastern European carnivals!

Carnival series with Kata Tóth from Kattuska

 The third in my Carnival series is Kata from Kattuska! Look at the cute costumes she made for her kiddos!

What do you and your family do for carnival?

Since my son is a February baby, we find it cool to make his birthday party a masquerade party too.

Do you all dress up, or just kids?

Until now only kids would dress up but this year I managed to persuade the parents to come masked too.

The first few costumes for my kids were made by me. Like when I made Bogyó és Babóca (Berry and Dolly) costumes.

Or when Hanga started kindergarten and got cat as her sign and I made her paws and a tail.

 My son Soma got a gymnast costume when he was one year old. He was too cute lifting those weights made of black balloons...he only hated his mustache.:)

Now that I am working I don't have time to make their costumes, but I hope in future they will have ideas for costumes that I can make for them.

Any special foods?

I love donuts, but I can't make them. I've never even tried, since that is what grandmas make. I stay with crepes and waffles, I am good at that.

Thanks Kata!

Read posts from others in the series!

Find me on Eastok Europe, where I talk about Eastern European carnivals!

What about you? Would you like to participate? Do let me know!