GOOD LOOKS - Jubilee Party

extra cream

I really do love good old fashioned English baking. I never really thought about there being such a thing but now that I live in Switzerland with it' strong German and French influences in the bakeries I notice the serious "gap" on the shelves. You will be very hard pressed to find what we would call "cake". Yes, there are lots of "tortes" and "gateauxs" but a plain vanilla sponge or chocolate cake? Not likely. And don't get me started on cupcakes! It is in moments like now as I plan my Jubilee tea that I am seriously tempted to open up a true English tea room here, minus the fact that I can't bake! 

None the less, I know it will be super easy for you all in SA to pop down to Woolies to get your fix and here are a few lovelies to give them the Jubilee touch! At least I can make a mean cucumber sandwich!

IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP

Jubilee Tiered Sweets and Treats Stand

R125 each

Jubilee Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers

R70 each

 

As seen in UK Home Beautiful Magazine

GOOD LOOKS - Princess and the Pea

a royal sweetness!

I found the perfect idea for a Princess and the Pea cake, not only is it actually called Princess Cake, but it is ball shaped and traditionally green! 

A Princess Cake (Prinsesstårta in Swedish) is a traditional Swedish cake consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, whipped cream and thick pastry cream all topped with a 2-3 mm thick layer of marzipan. The marzipan overlay is normally green, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and often decorated with a pink marzipan rose. The original recipe first appeared in the 1930s "Prinsessornas Kokbok" cookbook, which was published by Jenny Åkerström, a teacher of the daughters of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland. The cake was originally called "Grön tårta" (green cake), but was given the name "prinsesstårta" or "princess cake" because the Princesses Margaretha, Märtha and Astrid were said to have been especially fond of the cake.

I didn’t bake mine, as luckily for me one of our bakeries makes them daily, and if you have an IKEA nearby you are in luck as it is a standard item on their tea trolley. And if you are a keen baker here is a good recipe to follow.

Another cake option would be to make one large or multiple small custard cake slices – like the one below: lots of layers and topped with pink icing mimicking the mattresses.

p.s. Both my princess cake and custard slice got a bit “damaged” in transit, so much so that the top of my little princess cake had a hole in it. What to do? Inspiration hit and I decided to top it off with a crown – and low and behold the box the treats came in had gold lining – fate I tell you!

The Princess and the Pea Party posts:

Princess and the Pea Invitation

Princess and the Pea Decorations

Princess and the Pea Story Activity

Princess and the Pea Centrepiece

Princess and the Pea Flowers 

Princess and the Pea Menu

GOOD LIFE - Emma's Fairy Party

shhh! fairies at play

Melinda recently held her daughter's party and sent in such lovely photos! Totally inspired for the fairy party I am throwing for my goddaughter next weekend!

In Melinda's words...

"Hi there, on Saturday we had our little girl's 3rd birthday party. All of the decor was either bought or hired from In Good Company. I'd like to thank you for making my little girl's day such a special one x

Emma's 3rd birthday party was held at The River Cabin, a gorgeous venue just outside of Jo'burg. I had started off with a toadstool theme but it soon became a magical wonderland party fit for a fairy princess.

Danielle from Moemas did the catering which included the most beautiful cupcakes, biscuits and homemade marshmallows on sticks. We also had veggie crudites and fresh raspberries, strawberries, grapes apples and bananas to prevent too much of a sugar overload. The moms and dads were treated to a feast of pastries, quiches, meringues and a cheese board. There were thank you gifts for the moms decorated with toadstools, which I made (with love of course). Emma's birthday cake was a toadstool and the piece de resistance was the tiny little Ben dressed as a woodland bunny which Danielle made.

Because Emma loves anything fairyish at the moment I made her a gorgeous pink and red peti tutu but as soon as Kerry the face painter turned Emma into a cat that was the end of that idea. She stayed in character the entire morning, short of asking for a bowl of milk.

All of the decor was either bought or hired from In Good Company, a treasure chest of a shop in Parkhurst that goes by the motto "nothing you need, but everything you want". Balloons and the bubble machine were provided by Elise at Jumping Jack.

 

Sherene, the super talented photographer from innereyephotography, captured the day for us. A face painter, a bubble machine, a homemade pinata and loads of friends made it a super special day and the little guests didn't want to leave. Always a sign of a good day in my books.

GOOD LOOKS - Princess and the Pea

a midnight feast

For the Princess and the Pea party we have been featuring all week, the idea has been to do a mock up sleepover party. And I am sure you remember when you were young the most exciting thing would be the late night food fest! So for our mini party, I purchased all sorts of sweet treats, all in pink and green, and the idea was to have one pea on the plate aka the green macaroon.

TABLE AND MENU

Pink Greengate quilt for the picnic blanket

Pink and Green Greengate Ivy Melamine Cups and Plates 

Green Polka Dot Napkins, buy similar here

Pink milk with green paper straws and printable toppers

Pink and green macaroons, get yours from www.danielas.co.za

Watermelon and strawberries and pink cream swiss rolls to mimic a rolled mattress, get similar from Woolies. Pink printable topper made from polka dot printable party.

 

The Princess and the Pea Party posts:

Princess and the Pea Invitation

Princess and the Pea Decorations

Princess and the Pea Story Activity

Princess and the Pea Centrepiece

Princess and the Pea Flowers

GOOD LOOKS - Jubilee Party

send out the invites

I follow a few sites religiously and one of them is Anthropologie - how cute is their let's celebrate outside campaign for the Jubilee. I think their three step plan is spot on, so check out our posts for:

HANG THE BUNTING

SET THE TABLE

And here is the one for send out the invites.

Can you spot their clever invitations? They have taken a plain archival cream card and envelope and then added with black photo corners a photograph of the queen. Also, other ones they had in their shop included the Union Jack.

So why not make your own using either these old fashioned London Cavallini Petite Notes or download our Union Jack printable and pop it on.

Yesterday, earlier in the week I hinted I had something quirky up my sleeve for a Jubilee Party, and here is one of the ideas. Instead of going the traditional red, blue and white route, mix it up for a modern take and use our hot pink, red and white Union Jack printable. More to follow...

IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP

Cavallini London Petite Notes

R120

IN GOOD COMPANY HIRE

Cream Teapot as pictured above R10 each for hire

(matching teaware available too)

IN GOOD COMPANY

GOOD ON PAPER

Red, Blue and White Union Jack

Pink Union Jack 

Download here for free

GOOD LOOKS - Princess and the Pea Party

sweet "pea"onies

Our next idea in our Princess and the Pea party is a fluffy floral one. Luckily for me, it is peony season so I picked up a bouquet from our local supermarket (but I also spotted them on the side of the road!).

The pink and fluffy peonies perfectly suited our colour scheme and theme and were aptly called "pea-onies" but one could equally use sweet peas for the same look and play on words. 

The additional pea element are those little coloured gel water beads that you buy and use these to anchor the flowers and fill up a glass vase or apothecary jar. My girls had so much fun "making" the peas. All you do is full up a glass vase with water, pop the beads in and wait for a few hours. I am not too sure how long the process lasts (the instructions were in German) but I have seen these in most florists in South Africa and in all colours and sizes. 

The gel beads are a really good idea for when you want to add a pop of colour to a table and you will use a lot less flowers. I also particularly think they are well suited to "boy" occasions were masses of blooms would just not be appreciated.

The Princess and the Pea Party posts:

Princess and the Pea Invitation

Princess and the Pea Decorations

Princess and the Pea Story Activity

Princess and the Pea Centrepiece

GOOD LOOKS - Jubilee Party

set the tea table

A Jubilee British tea table can be easily be achieved by following a few of these tips, as pictured below:
- Scout round your own home looking for any decorative tableware in the cool brittania colours of red, white and blue: think tablecloths, napkins, glassware, tableware etc.
- For flower arrangements fill a teapot or old style tea tins with red and white roses or tulips.
- Use ceramic or paper cake stands for the centrepieces, and stack them on top of tea tins or one another to create a dramatic effect.
- Top off your centrepiece with a Union Jack Flag - make one using our free printable.
- Also, use our free printable to make place mats.

 

IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP

British Cardboard Tiered Cupcake Stand R115 for 2

British Cardboard Cake Stand R110 each

British Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers R60 for 50

British Paper Cups R40 for 12

Rosanna Inc White Cake Stand 

BUY ONLINE HERE

IN GOOD COMPANY

GOOD ON PAPER

British Flag Printable

Download here for free