Let them eat cake!

I wanted to write this entry weeks ago, however life has been quite busy lately and I haven't been able to update my blog as much as I would like.  When I first started this blog, I had just moved to England and didn't have a job, and even then I found it hard to set time aside to write.  Now with a job, busy with friends and family, looking after the apartment, it's even harder!  I guess as a first time blogger, I didn't realize that you actually have to set aside time to collect your thoughts and write an entry.  It doesn't just happen when I have spare 15 minutes like I thought it would.

Anyways, back to my topic.  Cake.  I love it.  I've never met a cake I don't like.  Except once, when I tried fruit cake.  BLEGH.
I remember one birthday (2 years ago) my parents got me tiramisu instead of a birthday cake and  I was so disappointed.  That's how much I love cake.

Living in England has opened the doors to many kinds of desserts I didn't know about.  Stuff like panna cotta, pavlova, rhubarb crumble, victoria sponge, bakewell tart and mince pies isn't common where I come from.  However there are days, when I just want a slice of chocolate cake with buttercream icing (and an ice cold glass of milk).  In my experience, I've found that most cakes here are iced with fondant.  Whilst it looks beautiful, I miss the texture of traditional American frosting.

Cupcakes or rather fairy cakes, are quite popular.  I think the cupcake trend is growing and will become huge in the next couple of years, like it is in America.  Currently Stateside, there are many bakeries that specialize only in cupcakes and make all sorts of different flavors. I can see that starting in England, at least in Birmingham (maybe it's something that's already been done in London!)

But oh how I love cupcakes.  I love the fact they're small and bite[s] sized.  I love how I can have a couple of them and not feel guilty.  I love how they're easy to transport and easy to serve (I can't slice and serve cake to save my life).  So because of this, when some friends of ours where having a Halloween get together, I decided to contribute by bringing some homemade cupcakes.

Recipe can be found here.

I'm happy to say, they were devoured.

Missed a day...

Back in February, my mother-in-law, brought home these little guys:

They were so sweet and fluffy.  I loved having them sit on my lap as I watched TV.  Slowly they grew and were not so sweet anymore (or fluffy). **Disclaimer - I'm not anti chicken, it's just that sometimes they can be a bit moody.**

And before we knew it, they had grown into this:

Overall, they're fine.  They're a bit funny, and can be cute at times (not at  4AM when you're trying to sleep though.)  And the 2 hens (one is not pictured) started laying eggs as well; it is really nice having fresh, organic eggs every day. 
The laying has been going on for a few months, and every day, it never fails: we get 2 eggs.  But last week, my brother-in-law noticed that the chickens only gave one egg.  
Strange that one laid and the other didn't.  
The next day, we realized why it took the poor hen 2 days to get it out:

Far left: the egg that took 2 days.

Haven't decided if it's going to be fried, scrambled, or sunny side up.

The most stressful thing?

So we moved over the weekend.


I should be an expert on this since I've moved 5 times in my life thus far.  However, the first time I moved, I was 11 so I was too busy running around a half packed house and playing games while my parents packed. The third time was when I moved to University (multiple moves all bunched into one).  Although on those accounts, I just threw stuff in my dad's car and when we got to the dorm/apartments, I then thew stuff into the huge trolley.


The most significant move had to be when I moved from Chicago to Birmingham.  That took a total of 8 suitcases (how do I have so much stuff?!)  Surprisingly, it was quite easy.  Maybe because all 8 suitcases didn't all come with me?  Anyway, because of "my experience," I considered myself an expert on this particular subject, hell I was ready to start my own moving company.  "Moving to do? Let Safoora help you!" (the catch phrase is currently a work in progress).


When Baz and I got our flat, I thought moving from the house to our place would be easy-peasy.  It's furnished, so all we have to bring is clothing and such; the only big thing being our T.V.  2 weekends and 5 trips later, we are finally organized and settled in.  One thing I learned about myself during all this: disarray and disorganization makes for one stressed Saf.  When everything was finally put away in it's place, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and actually be excited about our first new flat!


Baz said that moving is one of the most stressful things one will do in life.  I don't know if I believe that or maybe this weekend's adventure has already faded from my mind?  I'm too busy thinking about important issues: planning the housewarming party!

Try Again

So I first started this blog back in 2008 right before my move to the UK on the suggestion of my friend Chris Z Imran J (sorry Chris!) However after a first few entries (which were more like rants - hey, I was homesick!) my writing sort of fizzled out.  
Recently after being inspired by my beautiful cousin, I've decided to start again.  Hopefully will stick with it this time. 
Don't really have a direction for this blog...as of now I think it will be a mixture of things: from food to books, to photographs to journal entries, the possibilities are endless!
Welcome to the craziness that is my mind.