Mrs Birks Blogs

What's so bad about being forty? Aside from a huge increase in grey hair and the need to apply neck firming cream, it doesn't seem so awful to me.  But then I am only a week or so into my fortieth year. One of the best things about turning 40 is that people shower you with gifts.  40 being a significant number means that the pressies are fantastic!  One beautiful gift that I will treasure always was a plum coloured Ted Baker bag with copper coloured accents.  I don't really have the lifestyle to go with such a beautiful bag but there's still time!  They say life begins and all that. To prove I'm still youngish I also got a Brits CD full of young people music.  I have already irritated the family by over-playing Justin Bieber.  I also got a beautiful silver honey pot, an equally beautiful 3 tier cake plate, some books and a Happy Valley DVD (we missed it first time around and everyone has been raving about it).  All in all, a v...

On a trip to our local library recently, I got a copy of the Making Cupcakes with Lola cookbook.  Before I talk about the many joys of the book, I just want to mention our local library.  We love it! The staff are so helpful, even when my 7 year old asks slightly obscure questions about Pokémon.  They run loads of special events - we've been to an indoor picnic, junk modelling and a record breaking attempt and there is a genuinely welcoming atmosphere.  When we first moved here, joining the library was one of the first things we did and the following weekend for an added bonus, they had a DVD and CD sale where we managed to pick up lots of bargains,  With cuts to all libraries over the last few years, I am so grateful for the service provided by ours - well done Downham Market library, we salute you! Anyway, back to Cupcakes with Lola.  I hadn't really thought of myself as a cupcake baker before or a cupcake buyer for that matter - I don't k...