HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME

Image courtesy of Digitalart

“Happy Blogiversary to me, Happy Blogiversary to me, Happy Blogiversary to me-e, Happy Blogiversary to me” (sung in my best singing voice)!

It was exactly this day, one year ago, that I wrote my very first “Life’s like a Cupcake!” blog post.  I never imagined, at that time, how much joy this “phenomenon of blogging” would bring.  A creative outlet, a way to free all the thoughts that spin around in my mind, an avenue for meeting some beautiful people from near and far, and a door to opportunities that would never have come my way if I hadn’t hit that very first magical “PUBLISH POST” button!

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A Selfless Act

It’s no secret that I love blogging.  It’s one of my many creative passions, along with cupcakes (of course), beauty, fashion and food!  These are all things that are centred on ME though.  I mean, I’m okay with that, as I’m all for self-care, self-preservation and healthy self-esteem!  However, I’m always totally blown away by people who do things in life that are completely selfless.

The most amazing part about the people who perform many selfless acts, is that although they are blessing other people with whatever they’re doing, they actually get a real buzz from it too.  From my perspective, that’s a win-win situation.  The one is blessed, and the other is blessed to be a blessing!  Does that make sense?

Let me share two amazing examples of selflessness I have come across in the last couple of weeks, which I think are totally cool and have caused me to realise it is selfless acts that make the world go round!

My first example is the story of my friend Nat, who I introduced to you a couple of weeks ago…

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A DOSE OF JOY

Before I write about anything else, it brings me great pleasure to announce the lucky winner of my very first giveaway (which was a $450 Dettol Baking Pack)!!

I used trusty Random.org to pick the winner as follows (please note any lovely commenters who commented more than once only got one entry, sorry):

Congratulations to MSunflower whose winning comment was:

“Ooh, what a package!  You guys are hilarious hehehe!  I would love to win because you inspire me to try baking!  I am a terrible cook but I LOVE decorating sweets…that edible glitter looks like so much fun!!”

MSunflower, I do hope this fun Dettol Baking Pack brings you much joy, as it did my family!!  Keep your eye out for a big box in the mail, full of all these wonderful goodies from the lovely people at Reckitt Benckiser…

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WHAT ABOUT THE CUPCAKES

I’ve often talked about my long “to-do list”.  In fact, it seems to be an ever-growing list of things I want to do, see and achieve in my life.  It’s been no secret that after my breast cancer diagnosis, making the most of my life has become a priority.  I’ve become quite focussed and unapologetic about pursuing my hopes and dreams.  


One of my dreams, which my family is well aware of, is to be a writer.  I’ve always had this dream, but never considered it possible that it could become a reality.  But after much encouragement and support from my family, I now call myself a writer.  Writing is something that comes from within.  It’s an innate passion.  Although my ultimate aim is to eventually get paid for it, this is not why I write!


I just have to write.  I want to write.  I need to write! Writing is part of who I am and who I want to be.  This is how the whole blogging about cupcakes thing came about.  It’s become clear though, that I have a lot more to write about than just cupcakes.  For that reason, I’m bursting to share some great news with you…


I have a new blog, A Brush with Beauty!!  (2024 update: not anymore). It is a beauty blog, as the name suggests.  For those who may not be aware, I’m actually a qualified Beauty Therapist and Makeup Artist and owned my own beauty salon for over 6 years.  The whole ‘beauty’ thing is definitely another one of my passions.  What could be more rewarding than making people feel beautiful?

Image courtesy of Nixx Photography

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CHASING THE LOVELY

CHASING THE LOVELY (A BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY)!

I can’t quite believe it’s July already.  Not only that, but I can’t believe that on the 28th July it will be a whole year since I started my blogging journey!  Time has absolutely flown – which just goes to show that time really does fly when you’re having fun!

Seriously though, I don’t know how I ever lived outside of blogland…such a wonderful place, filled with creative souls, passion aplenty and opportunities galore.  A beautiful blog friend of mine, Florentina, calls herself “the girl saved by the blog”.  I think we must be “blog soul mates” as I believe I too have been “saved by the blog”.

Ever since my Breast Cancer diagnosis in 2009, my focus has been on chasing the lovely in life.  There is enough of the “unlovely” to deal with throughout our lives, so why dwell on those things when we don’t have to?  As much as I can, I’ve chosen to dwell on the beautiful, the delightful and the harmonious, which has been a wonderful aid in my healing; not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well.  I’m determined to reach for the stars in all aspects of my life, now that I truly believe that all things are possible!

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TEA FOR TWO

TEA FOR TWO (plus a few more)!

Life is filled with nuances of both sad and happy times, which sometimes overlap.  Nuances that subtly change from day to day, and moment to moment.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve experienced many such moments.  I’ve attended numerous funerals, which always bring such sadness.  The most recent taking place on Friday in Wingham, a small country town on the mid-North coast of New South Wales.  This is where my family lived when they first migrated to Australia from Lebanon many years ago.  My paternal grandparents are buried in Wingham Cemetery, along with my two uncles and an aunt.  And now one of my first cousins is also buried there.

A “family entourage” travelled from Sydney to pay our respects and I noticed that the sadness we experienced throughout the day was often mixed with nuances of happiness.  Old memories shared by my 80 year old Mum (one of the few survivors of her generation), funny stories told to describe the cousin who had just passed, and many a warm embrace and chat with family and friends of old.

The grave of my dear grandparents: my Jidi (grandfather) died in 1955 and my Sitti (grandmother) in 1951
– I never had the chance to meet them,
but I love them through the wonderful stories I’ve heard about them!

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LIVIN’ THE DREAM

Word has truly got around that I love food.  Not long after my invite and review of the Sucre Chocolate Cafe in Balmain a little while ago, I was invited to a new cooking class on offer in Sydney.  These cooking classes are held by the very talented Sonia from “Sonia’s Kitchen” in Burwood.  I was very excited to attend as a food blogger on Saturday afternoon, for the express purpose of giving this new business a bit of a plug.  I wasn’t paid to attend, but I did get to eat the delicious food afterwards, so that was payment enough!

Entering the “secret garden”

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NO REGRETS

We’ve just enjoyed a long weekend in Sydney, albeit a rainy one.  I always love weekends, but when we have one extra day tacked on the end, they’re even better!

We were invited to a friend’s farm on the Saturday night for a good old-fashioned bonfire.  It was so much fun and reminded me of bonfires when I was a kid.

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BOUNCING BACK

Photo courtesy of Graur Codrin

 

The last few months have been sprinkled with times of sadness.  Throughout my blog, I’ve spoken about these realities in life many times.  It’s not something I like to get stuck dwelling on too much though, as I think I’m a naturally melancholy person.  So I work and pray hard on getting back to the positive and focusing on the lovely in life as quickly as possible.
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SEPARATION ANXIETY

I’ve definitely been slack on the cupcake decorating front, haven’t I?  Even my family are starting to complain.  My husband keeps showing me pictures of the cupcakes he wants me to make for him from my cupcake calendar.  First it was a sugary golf scene….

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