Woohoo!  Six year old parties rule.  The cake was a hit and here are the pics.  I didn’t double it or anything hard, especially as kids don’t really like all ‘that cake’…..but the icing more!  Master Six wanted to help and asked for marshmallows only.

Seriously, after their party food, no one wanted cake until I cut it and they saw the colours, then every one of them had to have a piece. So, here are the details for my own.  Yes, that’s Miss 15mths giving me a ‘Hi 5′ for her baking attempts too.

Basic Cake:

Oven on 180 celsius, grease round cake tin and pull out containers/cups and teaspoons for colour mixing

2 cups flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

100g melted butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/4 cups sugar

1.  Mix butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time.  Add essence

2.  Sift in flour, baking powder and soda

3. Slowly add milk.

Important Note: Master 6 wanted banana as well so I added one mashed banana and added 2Tbsp more flour.  Banana tends to brown/dull a cake though, so if they don’t want it don’t add it – as the colour will be far more vibrant than ours.

4.  Separate into as many bowls as you have colours.  It was about a heaped cup in each bowl

5.  Now add almost 1 teaspoon of gel colour to each one and mix well with a teaspoon.  Our colours were: Light Blue, Red, Yellow, Black, Purple, Green and Orange.

6.  Just tip out each colour into the middle.  Don’t spread it, don’t touch it!

7.  Pour next colour into centre of last colour and repeat until complete.  If you have a favourite colour, make that the last one as this ends up being the largest show of colour in your cake.

8. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, then check it and cook another few to 10 mins if it’s still making crackling cooking sounds when you put your ear to it. (don’t own skewer – I know I know).

When done it looks rather dull or dark but don’t worry, it will be colourful inside.  Cover with a tea towel until cool.  Now ice how you desire and the kids will go wild!  Considering I am no cook, I was pretty proud of our accomplishment.  Here is the link to the the one that inspired me.

I want the word ‘Bliss’ right above my yoga mat….the yellow is such a joyful colour scheme.  Mooza Designs in Sydney Australia use gorgeous japanese and retro paper to paste onto WC (Toilet) signs or make words, names and numbers.  Take a look at their shop, you’ll have trouble choosing your colour scheme from the custom range it’s all so joyous!

Hidden Bed, a company in New Zealand has the license for this great bed that smoothly pulls down over your desk to accommodate that extra person, or it would be a handy option for a studio apartment or dorm room. I saw them at the mall and had a go at transforming it…..super light and easy to change, plus you can even leave your glass of water without a spill and your laptop open.  You could also use the desk as a play area….set up with the train-set in a childs room.

There is an option of king single or double and you also have five different finish options – from white to jarrah laminate, plus extra shelving.  The cost for a king single is NZ$4000.00 while the Double is NZ$4400.00; that includes mattress, installation and GST.  Take a look at their website right here.

We have had seven birthday parties in a row – each weekend another little boy or girl turns 6 and so we have been wrapping quite a few presents.  The sellotape seems to have disappeared and as I am always wrapping at the last minute, we have ended up using duraseal (for covering school books)……I know, bad huh.  Over at Blossom Creations, they have a great range of rice paper tape among many other household goodies from your desk to your kitchen.  This is the tape I would much prefer to use, the patterns are yet another way to personalise your gift.  These cost only AUD$5 a roll or you can purchase in a set.   Go take a look right here.

I love this website, though I don’t get to browse it often.   UrbanBaby is based in Sydney, Australia and has the hippist things for babies and kids. My favourite item would have to be the Crazy Wolf.  Designed in France, he comes with a doll, a mobile, a hen, a pig and a frying pan – that he EATS up!  You can unzip his tummy to get them all out.  What a great ode to Little Red Riding Hood. It measures 35cm x 30cm, and the tummy toys from 7cm to 15cm.  He costs AUD$64.95 plus shipping.   Go see him at their store or buy online.

This would be a fun way to store books and soft toys in Miss 1′s room.  It’s made of powder-coated metal and is a weighty 22.5kg; stands 2.1m high and 1.5m wide by 20cm deep – so quite large.  The Tree Shelf designed by Shawn Soh is not for sale yet, but I am sure it won’t be long.  I could just picture a teepee right next to it!

via [Inhabitat]

How an earth did I find this!  After searching for insect collections with Master 6, we surfed around this cool site called The Evolution Store for quite some time.  It is a treasure trove of goodies for collecting anything from butterflies to beetles, minerals to taxidermy animals . The store is in Manhattan, and they have this great online store, so anyone can order the amazing creatures above in things like paperweights, frames, boxes and trays just like a museum! And they ship internationally.  Go take a look at the range right here.

I have always liked a rug in my childrens rooms, even though we have always had carpet – Master 6 builds around or on his, and it is comfy when he spends a while playing.  But they are nothing on these cool designs; my favourite would have to be the farm, as Master 6 has played farms since about 2 and a half years old.

The best bit is they cost only AU$190 plus shipping, from Bubba Bling.  I think the price is excellent, considering the clever designs.  They also ship internationally, you just have to email them for a price.

via [Ohdeedoh]

Oh dear, we have fish!  And a sea snail!  It was not the plan.  Now we have moved back to NZ (yes that’s 4 moves in 17 months) – Master Nearly 6 was desperate for a pet, and how perfect was the timing when a friend needed to give hers away, as her new cats were fishing!

These tanks above are totally cool for a fish, though I am probably guessing they are for the ‘fighting fish’ rather than the common goldfish due to their size.  How hip are these for a kids room, or even your kitchen.  The white ‘Fish Hotel’ is by Teddy Luong and it can stack on top of each other to make an apartment building for fish.  Measuring 7.5″ x 7.5″ x 8″, you can buy it here for US$25 (about NZ$37) plus shipping internationally.

The other called the ‘Retro Room Aquarium’ can be bought here for US$20.  It measures 6″ H x 7″ W x 5″ D, and takes only 1 litre of water.   Happy fish shopping!

I am currently smitten with these pretty soft dolls.  My Miss 1 pointed and grabbed for them in a store in St Heliers Mall, so I went hunting online and found a selection right here.  The fabrics are all girly and always catch my eye when we spy them.   Measuring from 15cms tall, they start at about NZ$35.00, though some stores really mark the price up.

While we are still in temporary accommodation, I did not bring books for bedtime.  And so each night either myself or Mr Bohaute makes up a story for Master 5 & 3/4.  He absolutely loves them and I think they just might be more fun than us reading from a book, as he gets to imagine the story in his mind! I am quite surprised how fun it is, and have started typing them out after I’ve told the story as it’s impromptu all the way.

So I smiled when I came across this great bowl from Ayda Anlagan, the designer of this and other great story bowls. They can be purchased through her website or, here for about AU$29, plus shipping. What a great way to add another story to a child’s world.

via [If it's Hip It's Here]

Sometimes we all like a little music while we’re out and about, and not just through your earphones.  This Card Speaker by IDEA International is no bigger than a credit card and as thick as a pack of chewing gum.

It comes in either black or silver, with a mirror-polished back, and includes a protective carrying case, a 3.5 mm connection plug, and a USB battery charge cable. The speaker has an operating time of approximately five hours on a two-hour charge.  You can buy it right here for NZ$105 and they ship all over, but you need to email them for a shipping price.

[via]

Only the other day my dear friend was watching Miss 9mths put things in and out of her shape sorter.  She said that Miss would probably like a mail box….so I went hunting and discovered this one.

It would make a great DIY, but if you aren’t into building then you can buy one at How Now Design‘s Etsy shop for US$30 (about NZ$68) plus shipping.  It would last for quite some time with all the games kids play, and this one is clever in that it can hang on any door.

Vapur in California have come up with a re-usable water bottle that can be folded flat when empty.  It stands upright when full, folds flat and rolls up small enough to put in a pocket or purse, has a Carabiner for easy carrying, a writeable text area for your child’s name, is dishwasher safe and also can be frozen and used as an ice-pack.  It comes in three colours and is only US$8.95 (NZ$12.00).  You can purchase it from their website right here and they ship worldwide.   The Vapur sure would save some space in Master Five’s school bag.

What a great piece of simple furniture.  The Tschutschu designed by Dominik Lutz can perform as a bench, stage or table and the stage walls are painted with chalk paint. The base of the stage floor is painted as a railway system, but the ideas are endless depending on what your child is interested in. Because this is way over in Germany and is NZ$416 without shipping, I had thought it would make a great weekend DIY.   It’s made from Birch Plywood and measures: W 94 cm x D 47 x H 47, seat height 31.5 cm, table height 47 cm, height 20 cm.  Go get your tool belt on boys…or girls.

via [Ohdeedoh]

I am always on the lookout for lunch boxes with many compartments, so myself, my husband and my son has a selection of goodies for the day ahead.  The Goodbyn Lunchbox is cool and you can fit a banana inside which is a bonus, plus it comes with over 200 stickers to personalise.  They are US$29.95 each but Goodbyn don’t ship down-under, however, this website will send it for a ridiculous US$35 making this one expensive lunchbox (about NZ90).  That’s a pity, as I wanted to buy each niece and nephew one for Christmas. We’ll just stick to the Sandwich Keeper Plus for now.

Mum loves owls;  she always notices them in books, on cards or fabric and so I have caught that same bug.  Decoylab has a great range of clocks to choose from, but of course this mod bamboo owl is my choice.  A little soft light mounted just out of sight behind the eyes would also light up a little one’s room as their night light.  They do two sizes – large 10″ x 8″ is NZ$94 and the smaller 5″ x 7″ version is NZ$66, plus only NZ$10 shipping.

After seeing this viking doll on a calendar I had to see more!  Sandra Monat from Herzensart is the lady behind these cool dolls and she has a vast selection of girl and boy versions plus many more fairytale characters.  To see the great range click here.  They cost about NZ$190 (ouch – but aren’t they so gorgeous) and are sold all over the world.  The gallery showcases even more fantastic designs and her blog shows you the time and energy that goes into making these 42cm beauties!  I would love a pair for Master Five and Miss 3mths old – textile art in all it’s colourful glory!

While trying to get Miss 3mths old to sleep in the stroller, I found this great selection of stationery and more in the bookstore at Sylvia Park Mall.  The Australian Cristina Re range includes DIY, gifts, books and software – over 300 products that sell to over 1000 stores around Australia and New Zealand.  Take a look here at all the goodies available (paper, notepads, invitations, wrapping etc), and to find a stockist, click here.  Yet another writing pad made it home for the grocery list!

Homage in Newmarket, Auckland has just had a new shipment of furniture arrive, so go take a look as soon as you can. They have a great range of iconic mid century reproduction furniture, plus a range for your little ones also.  You can download their catalogue here for a look at what’s available and better yet, they are super helpful at making sure you get just the right piece for your home – even if it means taking a couple of pieces home.