Thinking and Measuring. Drowned Cake. StriVectin Bargains.


It’s been a weekend of thinking caps and measuring tapes at SSG Manor this weekend.
Armed with our trusty pocket measuring tape, Mr SSG and I braved the weekend crowds for a trip to our local Baby Bunting to workshop nursery furniture options.  It’s always a concise shopping expedition when Mr SSG is involved.  With an uncanny ability to narrow down any decision to two options, we managed to decide on a cot, change table, pram and high chair in under an hour.  My contributions to the morning’s excursion were firstly to not injure anyone as I tried to put together a Bugaboo Cameleon and secondly to walk out of the store with a jungle themed floor gym with tummy time capabilities.  We’re a great team, Mr SSG and I. 
We’ve also managed to do a huge furniture declutter this weekend with my brother coming around to take a couple of couches to his flat.  The space this has created seems to have thrown my nesting instincts into overdrive so with a bit of luck, Baby SSG’s space in the house will begin to take shape rapidly over the coming weeks.  
The tape measure also got whipped out for a spot of online suitcase shopping.  It’s 23 days until I fly off  to Stockholm and I’m in dire need of a light and virtually indestructible suitcase.  I think this Rimowa Hybrid 77cm multiwheel from Hunt Leather will be perfect.  They’re rumoured to last for decades and each part is replaceable on the off chance something does break.
It was my birthday today and I did something that I’ve been meaning to for each prior birthday but never quite got around to.  I made myself a cake from the ‘cake’ issue of Donna Hay magazine.  For years now, I’ve drooled over the amazing cakes that always seem to feature in the August / September issue.  I’d flag the most decadent recipe and promise to make it on my birthday weekend.
Well, this year, it finally happened.  I made the Chocolate Three Milk Cake.  
The first step requires you to whisk 200g of dark chocolate into a mixture of milk (full fat) and condensed milk.

Which I think then gives you the third milk of the recipe’s title.  The combination of these 3 ingredients alone tasted like the dark hot chocolate of my dreams.

The cake itself is a densely battered, 5 egg affair.
You really do need to spatula it flat to neatly fit the pan.  My weapon of choice is this circa 1970s spatula from mum.  The metal of the spatula looks as good as the day mum bought it and it’s got just enough to give to smooth over even the most stubborn cake batter.  

Things were going swimmingly for me until this point.  I’d followed every step to the letter and things looked as if they were going to plan.

Things started to fall apart at the cake poking step.  From how I read the recipe, the cooled to room temperature chocolate syrup / dreamy on its own chocolate beverage was meant to be poured over the cooled to room temperature cake.

The problem being, for me, was that the syrup didn’t absorb into the cake.  No matter how long I left it both at room temperature and also in the fridge.  I had plenty of left over chocolate syrup so I saved this in the hope that I could serve as a kind of drizzle over the cake.

Disaster or not, I had no choice but to frost the cake with the cream and sour cream topping of the recipe and hope for the best.

The sliced cake looks fine but sadly, none of that chocolatey, milky goodness made it through the cake.  Because the cake itself isn’t sweet, the sauce really was crucial to the final flavour.  I think I’m going to have to microwave a slice of cake drizzled in syrup later and see if it tastes any better.

In more successful birthday food news, guess what they had at Costco today?

$11.99 tubs of Chicken Laksa!!!  We’ll be having it for dinner tonight with some extra noodles, tofu and some Asian greens.

If  StriVectin is more your thing than chicken laksa, then run don’t walk to Costco because the Intensive Concentrate for stretch marks and wrinkles is now available in their aisles.  A pair of 120ml tubes is selling for $149.95 compared to $149 for a single 150ml tube (based on my google of Australian etailers).  There are also twin packs of the eye cream for $69.95, the price of a single 30ml tube elsewhere in Australia.  I was sorely tempted to jump on the bandwagon but have such a back log of skincare already, I’m going to have to leave these bargains to you, readers.

I’m off to have a bit of a lounge before turning in for the night. I’m such an expert and year round self gifting and have been so incredibly blessed this last year that a quiet weekend of catch ups with family and friends via the web and phone and in person is really all that I need this year.

Take care and have a lovely evening.


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