Unicorn Party: Akeekah Shenanigans 2

Bestie had another pretty little princess around two months ago Allahuma barik laha and where there's a princess involved, there has to be a party brimmed with unicorns, sweet treats, frosting fights, and tassel garlands doubling up as teatowels!

It seems like only a few months ago when we were welcoming bestie's first little princess into the world and now, nearly two years later, she has grown into the cutest interactive toddler-turned-teenager with a teeny tiny pretty sister in tow!

This time round, with unicorns blowing up on social media, we decided to adopt this fun pastel theme for the Akeekah party and create a Pinterest-worthy evening complete with a dessert table, unicorn cake and plenty of DIY decorations to welcome new bebe to friends and family. Although new bebe wasn't too well aware of what was going on and probably won't until she gets older, we 'grown ups' certainly enjoyed the unicorn party on her behalf!

Localtrotting: Tea on the Thames

The great thing about living in London, or what I mean to say is that in the four months that I've come to live in this road rage capital, there is so much to experience aside from the reckless half-wit drivers you encounter every passing day who are determined to hospitalise you as you drive!

 On a lighter note, as part of our Eid together as a married couple (yup, more details on the wedding to come!), my family gifted us with an afternoon tea for two on the Thames! Now, me being me, I love my cottages, remote countrysides, period dramas, Louisa May Alcott, china teacups, homemade lemonade, Wuthering Heights and most importantly....CAKES. Call me pretentious all you like, but secretly (to the knowledge of most people) I love the idea of living in a picturesque cottage in Cornwall or Devon, fishing on the weekends and running my own vintage tea shop. I often joke with my friends that I was born in the wrong era.

So, on a sunny, slightly blustery day, the hubby and I decided to take the trek to Tower Bridge and embark on our tea for two! I've always loved the concept of afternoon tea, way before it became on-trend, and always thought of it as a very delicate and appropriate way to consume treats. Taking the hubs along, I was very interested in how he, being a consumer of large 'manly' portions, would take to this, and to my amusement as our platter emptied away, he looked around casually, trying to catch the attention of one of the waiters: "Time for a re-fill," he announced!

Akeekah Party Shenanigans

Yesterday, I attended the Akeekah Party of my bestie's first-born! Me and the bestie go way back..to the days of jelly shoes, Capri suns and Barbie dolls. We've known each other as kids and went to the same nursery and primary school. Even after my family moved away from our hometown when I was a teen, we managed to stay in contact and our friendship has gone from strength to strength since alhamdulilah. 

It was amazing and a little emotional celebrating the birth of her daughter in the same room that we had celebrated bestie's fifth birthday around two decades ago! Funny enough, we somehow ended up wearing the same colours that we had worn at our first party together! Talk about fate! 

Let's Bake: Candlelight Caramel Cake

This is the perfect cake if you're looking for a real winter warmer pud. It's a really straightforward cake to make and doesn't take long to bake. Two layers of super light caramel pecan cake sandwich a creamy caramel buttercream before being draped in a flourish of more caramel buttercream and a garnish (or mindless scattering) of pecans and chocolate bits. Caramel cake has been on my mind for a while now, and after an endless struggle to find a recipe that didn't contain an ounce of salt (i'm afraid salted caramel doesn't quite cut it for me) I ended up adapting a fabulous recipe from The Pink Whisk and added pecans to give the cake more substance. 

In terms of decorating, I tried to go for effortless chic, but to be honest I just really wanted to eat the cake so I quickly slathered on some buttercream, aimlessly threw on some pecans and chocolate, and dribbled some caramel on the side. My peeps seems to like the whole look, but to be honest I think they were just grateful that a cake had been baked, so I  went with the whole messy-but-so-totally-2014-vibe. I've seen this look a lot recently, where the poor cake is left to fend for itself beneath a pile of sweets, fruits or whatever else may lurking in the kitchen cupboards.