Katy Potaty :: Blog

Sweet, sweet man (and looking for some fans!)

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-19T07:37:07Z

I was unexpectedly completely spoilt by BB on Valentine's Day. Now, it wasn't surprising because he isn't lovely and doesn't spoil me all the time - he does, in so many adorable ways. It was remarkable because BB had been laid up in bed with an awful flu for about 5 days beforehand, so I didn't think he'd even left the house!

He had left the house, and he'd been to my very favourite shop in Hervey Bay, Pandanus. BB chose a gorgeous high tea stand and a stunning coral leather wallet for me. The boy knows me very well - something cute to serve baked treats on, and something coral and glamorous. The boy did good!

I'm so very lucky, and I totally appreciate everything he does for me. This morning he took our weekend houseguests, Brooke (who brought wine!) and Anna (who brought homemade jam drops!) and I out for a delicious breakfast, then waited patiently while the three of us flitted around a boutique and tried on dresses, tops and... wait for it... FOUND MY WEDDING SHOES! Yup, I've got my wedding shoes, and I couldn't be more happy!

In other wedding-related news, I'm still searching for somewhere I can purchase around 40 buri fans for the wedding ceremony , but BB did suggest somewhere that I'll try tomorrow. All my fingers are crossed that I can get them, I'm not fussing over many wedding details, but having buri fans at the ceremony would be fantastic. Do you guys know of anywhere in SE QLD that stocks them...?

Be my Valentine

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-13T20:36:19Z

BB completely spoiled me this morning. I'll share my lovely gifts in the next few days, but I've got a bit to do to finish off BB's Valentine gift before I head to work... hmmm... can you guess what it might be? (It's a little bit silly, and a little bit, well, it's little, but I'm sure he'll LOVE it!)

I hope all my sweet and obviously very attractive readers have a gorgeous Valentine's Day - no matter whether you're eight or eighty, single, engaged or married, you can always find a way to share some Valentine's Day sentiment with others!

I love you, BB. Thanks for a gorgeous weekend together, and thank you SO MUCH for spoiling me this morning, it was unexpected and I appreciate you so much!

Happy Valentine's Day eve, sweet things!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-13T07:40:44Z

Hey, ya'll. I know that Valentine's Day isn't huge here in Australia... but I'm here to get you in a lovin' mood ready for tomorrow.

I hope that you don't need me to remind you, but I'm guessing that a few of you have dropped your computer mouse and are running for the nearest service station to find one of the remaining cheesy cards, or perhaps have flicked past my blog to a florist website to order your better half a bunch of cold-storage red roses. Here, let me help you... Click here for your standard V-day arrangement! (Try to think outside the box if you're going for roses - at the very least, order them in your love's favourite colour!)

What about those of you who aren't the romantic type, but still like to share the Valentine's Day sentiment? Yes, I'm talking to you, Snaili.

How about these quirky cards from Meghan McCrary?

If anyone gives me the music one, we're not friends anymore.

Oh, and I can't go past Melissa (of ISLY fame) and her sweet love note... so sweet and stinky, just like the men in our lives! Get the free printable here!

More Instagramming fun!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-08T05:30:47Z

I'm still going on @fatmumslim's #FebPhotoADay challenge. And I'm just a *little* bit pleased with myself for sticking at it!

Day 4 - a stranger
This was so hard, I am totally freaked out by the idea of taking a surreptitious photo of a stranger. I ended up using a pic from the Brisbane Beauty Bloggers delish-dumpling-dinner that I was lucky enough to be invited to before Christmas. These gorgeous girls are just that : gorgeous. Amazing, smart, focussed and generous, these ladies are setting a high standard for blogging, and they are why I'm too frightened to review products - they do it so well!
(Left to right: Annica of Haute Style, Yolanda of Shopping Intervention, Deanna of Miss Dee's Blog, Sarah of Hip & Haute, and Tegan of Tegania's Thoughts. If you're looking for some beauty and style inspiration, get thee to those blogs NOW.)

Day 5 - 10am
I spent Saturday and Sunday with my mother and bridesmaid, searching for the perfect wedding shoes for all three of us... We didn't find them.
My very lovely stepfather took us all out for a Thai banquet on Saturday evening, and I was as surprised as anyone when I managed to fit in an amazing coconut gelato early on Sunday morning. The food coma doesn't last long with this one, young Skywalker.

Day 6 - dinner
A delicious meal cooked by my lovely fiance BB. Beef snags, beef and mushroom rice, and the salad which we've been eating every day since pretty much New Year's Day! It's so yummy, and I'm fiding that we're both craving it every evening : lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, Greek feta, avocado and pinenuts. Oh, and did I mention that BB has been cooking dinner every day? He's the BEST!

Day 7 - Button
This is fairly self-explanatory. I spent all of Tuesday running around like a headless chicken at the College Swimming Carnival, and was exhausted, hot and grumpy by the end of the day. This was my favourite button when I hopped into my roasting car!

Are you completing @fatmumslim's #FebPhotoADay challenge?

Leave a comment below, letting me know how to find it: Instagram, Twitter, your blog, tumblr or Facebook!

I've committed... for three days so far.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-02-02T21:23:20Z

I'm managed to commit to @fatmumslim's #FebPhotoADay challenge. And yes, I'm quite chuffed. This is almost a major achievement by my often-fleeting concentration span.

Wanna see what I snapped..? Of *course* you do.

Day 1 - My View Today

Top: view from my office window

middle: view of my boss's hideously messy desk

bottom: view of the dingy Shark Show place up the road from home

Day Two - Words

No dogs, no diving. No fun. Urangan Pier, Hervey Bay.

Day Three - Hands

Hand-feeding the local lorikeets on the verandah... nice way to start the day!

Are you playing along with the February Photo A Day challenge? If you are, leave a comment and let me know, I'd love to see!

Sticking at it.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-31T19:56:26Z

I'm terrible at sticking at things.

Writing a daily journal or diary...? Sure, I get all excited about it, but then lose heart and interest around January 7th.

Keeping my wardrobe tidy...? Yep, it looks great until that one before-work morning where I've not planned for terrible weather and I rip everything off the hangers in the hope of finding a wool dress.

Taking iPhone photos every day...? Well, this I do... but I certainly don't remember to post *every single day* for a month.

So this month I've decided to get into fatmumslim's February Photo a Day challenge. It's about documenting the little things, sharing them, and hopefully getting the participants to notice small wonders and beauty in places they otherwise pass by. I LIKE IT.

Join in here... and post your pics to twitter, Instagram, tumblr, your blog, your Facebook, wherever you spend time online... spread your photos!

Brownies... it's always about the brownies.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-31T19:14:22Z

I was up at 5am yesterday morning and out for a walk before it got hot (and hot it did get - apparently it was 29 degrees Celcius by 8:30am - yeesh!). I was only three streets away from my house, bopping along to my exercise music, when I remembered that it was a lovely colleague's birthday. The reason I remembered is quite significant as I was walking past a house with an aviary of budgerigars outside, and my co-worker has a bit of a thing for budgies. Weird. Just... weird.

So home I trotted, and I searched the pantry for ingredients to whip her up a nice little birthday cake. All I had available at 5:30am was the basics to make my triple choc fudgey brownies. I've made them early in the morning before work before, when I worked with a lovely lass in commercial real estate in Brisbane. I think I created a monster there though, if I didn't walk in with a tray of fresh-from-the-oven brownies at least once a week, Rosie would go spare! Word to the wise: don't start a brownie habit that you don't intend to keep feeding.

Here is my brownie recipe again, as the link to the previous blog post doesn’t work on some laptops and mobile devices. Don’t ask me why, I’m a baking girl, not an IT girl.

120g good-quality dark chocolate (I only had milk cooking chocolate this morning. It'll do.)
125g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
85g plain flour
2tbs good-quality cocoa (I was out of cocoa, it's no biggie if you don't include it.)
100g milk chocolate chips
50g white chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and grease and line the base of a 20cm square pan. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, then set aside to cool.
Beat together the butter and sugar until pale. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, stirring until just combined. Sift the flour and the cocoa, then fold into the egg mixture. Fold in the chocolate and chocolate chips, pour into cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Leave to cool in the pan, then cut into squares to serve. Dust with a little sifted icing sugar to finish!

Happy Birthday, fiancé!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-19T21:41:36Z

As we’re engaged for less than twelve months, I only get to say this once... (this time next year, it'll be 'husby'!)

BB, I truly hope that you have an amazing birthday, and I just know that you’ll have an amazing year.

Thank you for your love, support, silliness and hugs. You mean the world to me, I hope you feel it.

I’m yours, forever and always.

They arrived... and they're gone just as quickly!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-15T23:16:47Z

After so much indecisiveness, BB & I finally decided on wedding invitations. (Let it be known that the indecisiveness was mine and mine alone. BB was totally happy with every single invitation design that I suggested to him!)

They arrived in the post on Friday, and by Saturday midday they were ready to be posted...! Eeek!

I’m so thrilled with the design we went with, it is a perfect representation of what we’d love our wedding to be – elegant and simple, with a dash of fun.

What’s next on the wedding list...? Ahhhh. Wedding shoes for me. Yes... I’ll be wearing flats, of course!

Happiness is a cupcake

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-12T06:03:11Z

Spotted on the Facebook page of Michelle of Michelle's Style File. So damn true.

It's all coming together... in my head.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-10T21:05:52Z

You guys know that I’m engaged to the man of my dreams, BB. You also know that I’m planning the wedding of our dreams in Port Douglas. And you’d BETTER know that said wedding will have a certain colour woven through most of the elements – coral.

I have chosen my dress (and yes, Mum and my Bridesmaid Shannon had to talk me out of wearing a coral wedding gown. Because I so would have!). BB and I have decided on ceremony and reception venues in Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland. We’re looking at menus and photographers, and I’ve come up with the florals that I’ve always been dreaming of!

Stunning coral wedding inspiration board by Wedding Paper Divas

The only thing that worrying me at the moment is the bridesmaid dress - I'm amazed that it's been impossible to find Shannon a coral dress all through the Summer. We've both been looking everywhere, but incredibly enough, none are jumping out at us! I'd love her to wear a gorgeous dress that she'll wear again, any length, in some shade of bright coral. The tricky part is that we need to find the dress so that I know the particular shade of coral for me to base the rest of the coral details on! Ahhh.

Do any of my lovely readers have suggestions for a pretty coral dress (I'd love it to be a floaty Summery maxidress, but any length is fine) for my gorgeous bridesmaid? Please help!

What we've been doing...!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2012-01-09T01:30:13Z

Home. Too tired / lazy to type. Also, I have to wash all the clothes I took on holidays to Tasmania and Fraser Island. Yuk. (Thank GOD we have a top-loading washing machine here. I couldn't bear to do a million large loads in the top-loader we have at Hervey Bay.)

So you, lucky reader, get to check out a handful of pics instead...!

Fun in Tasmania with my lovely fiancé, BB.

Gorgeous shell I found at Shelly Beach, Opossum Bay.

Tasmania's best: Mercury Cider, crepes with goat's cheese, honey-roasted pears, walnuts and mesclun salad, and little pancakes with fresh raspberry purée and Valhalla Raspberry and Cream icecream.

Oh, and my lovely man. He's DEFINITELY Tasmania's best.

Another glorious day and wonderful evening at the Taste Festival and at Constitution Dock, looking at all the Sydney to Hobart yachts.

Our home away from home, our beach campsite on Fraser Island.

Very cool old-school Aussie shop/pub at Waddy Point, Fraser Island.

Perfect Australian Summer's day: 4WD along the beach, catching some early-morning rays while reading wedding magazines, the BEST icecream ever, and the untouched rainforest on the track to Lake McKenzie. I freaking LOVED Fraser Island.

The smile says it all - absolute Summer holiday perfection! Big thanks to BB for taking me to two incredible Australian islands - Tasmania and Fraser Island. I had a beautiful Christmas and New Year break with you, and I can't wait to get stuck into the amazing experiences that 2012 holds for us!

What a year...

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-31T04:20:45Z

I don't usually post more than once a day, but today is the end of 2011, and it wouldn’t be right to let it pass by without mention. I won't do a massive and long-winded re-cap of the year, but I will say that this year has been an amazing one, full of unexpected things.

I turned 30 – eeek! I lived through turning 30 and discovered that I love being 30. I get to call teenagers ‘kids’ and Gen Y people ‘idiots’. (Kidding!) After an emotionally tumultuous decade in my twenties, I’ve found love, stability and a little self-assurance.

My sweet boyfriend became my sweeter fiancé when he proposed during a romantic trip to Far North Queensland on a beach at Port Douglas. I began the wonderful process of planning our dream wedding for April next year, and my mother and I have shared some fantastic time together talking about her ‘baby girl’ getting married.

Thank you so very much to the wonderful people who have loved me, supported me and put up with me during the last twelve months, both personally and professionally. I’ve changed jobs (and careers! Bye bye retail!) and changed locations, and met fabulous folk.

I truly hope that every one of you finds peace in your recollections and thoughts of 2011, and excitement in looking forward to 2012.

Happy New Year!

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-31T03:44:43Z

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours,

and let each New Year find you a better man.

~ Benjamin Franklin ~

Happy New Year to all my very cherished friends and loved ones. I truly wish you the best for 2012 and beyond, and that your NYE is full of fun and friendship, love and laughter.

Oh, and champagne, of course!

Merry Christmas, sweet friends

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-24T19:19:10Z

This morning, I hope that you are sitting around your Christmas tree with your loved ones, enjoying a good coffee (or a glass of champers, if you're so inclined) and wearing a silly Christmas hat.

Wishing you all a wonderfully relaxing and peaceful Christmas, thank you so much for your lovely blogging support. I truly adore this blogging community, and treasure you all.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-21T23:28:10Z

What's your favourite Christmas song?

Mine is, without a shred of doubt, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'. And there are so many adaptations of this classic that there's sure to be one for every Christmassy mood!

The version that I have on repeat at this time of year is by Lady Antebellum, it's super-cute and flirty, and really makes me want to pop on a jaunty winter hat and snuggle with my man and some spiked eggnog!

I'll be home for Christmas

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-19T19:04:44Z

I've finished packing and we're about to jump onto a plane to head to Tasmania. This is super-exciting. I can't wait to spend Christmas with my fiance's family, which is actually my family. I can totally claim them now.

I do love them so much, and they are all completely welcoming. So yes, this bloggy post title is correct, I'll be made to feel very much at home at my new sister's gorgeous house.

I especially adore my fiance's sister. She and I clicked the very first time we met, five and a half years ago. And of course, she was telling him back then that I'm the girl he should marry... how can I NOT love her! She has two crazy-cool daughters too, so now I have nieces. Both girls are smart, gorgeous and so loving, I'm thrilled to be their aunty!

You may know that I come from a very small family. In our immediate family, there's just Mumsy, my stepdad John (from this Christmas on, I'd like to make a concerted effort to call him Dad), and my baby brother (who is 20 and therefore still the baby of the family). Yep, that's it. There are four of us, and as Mumsy & John/Dad aren't married, there are two different last names. And when I'm married next April, there will be three last names. But I really don't mind, it's not a name which means a lot to me any more, as it's my biological father's last name. I'm really looking forward to taking BB's last name and joining our families together.

On the family thing... I was thinking today that my Mum hasn't met BB's mother. This is weird. My lovely Mumsy was always the mum in high school who insisted on talking to everyone's parents before sleepovers, movies and parties. Highly embarrassing. Even in my early twenties, she demanded to be given the opportunity to meet boyfriend's parents. I just KNOW that our mothers will get along when they meet in Port Douglas before the wedding, though. And they are both very excited about all the wedding prep, they both text message me often to see how things are going.

So, we're heading to Tasmania (yes, the possible cold weather is a little nervy, but I've packed a LOT), and while we're there, the wedding invitations will arrive at my new sister's place and then I'll bribe my nieces (with chocolate and promises of QLD holidays) to help me check them, stuff them and stamp them, then off to the Post Office they'll go! I think once the invitations are in the post, I'll sleep easier at night. One more thing off the list, right?

Where are you spending Christmas?

Not my usual Christmas blog post

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-17T22:42:08Z

If you're a regular / long-time reader of this blog (and if you're not, why not?), you'd remember that around this time of year, I start posting Long Demanding Wanty Lists of Things I'd Like For Christmas. Because Santa reads blogs to work out what to get the good girls, dontcha know...!?!

This year, however, is a little different. I honestly can't think of anything I'd like to ask Santa for. Truly. (You may express your shock now.)

I've got a gorgeous fiancé who spoils me rotten, a beautiful wedding less than five months away, family who love me, friends who adore me, a sweet car that never conks out on me, a wardrobe of pretty things, and a bathroom cabinet chock-full of more nail polishes, lotions and potions than I'll be able to use in two lifetimes. What on earth could I possibly ask for?

Nothing. I'm truly lucky, and I won't be asking Santa for anything this year. Although I have asked Mumsy for a little something.

What? She's not Santa!

What are you asking Santa (or your Mum) for this Christmas?

Enjoy counting down to Christmas,

And... we're back with your regular bridal-craziness programming.

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-16T03:49:32Z

Heyyyyy. Miss me? Of course you did.

So, this is where we're up to with the whole wedding thingy: I finally ordered the wedding invitations. I've been umm-ing and ahh-ing over them for about two months, and I just bit the bullet this morning and placed the order.

After so much advice (both good and bad) from other brides, I ended up going with what felt right for Bradley and I, and what represents our relaxed wedding day perfectly.

So no, I didn't get the 17-layer ivory metallic embossed paper, lace and tulle invitation embellished with crystals, pearls and bows, and which comes in a scented envelope box. (Yes, it exists. And it's as heinous as it sounds.)

In other super-exciting news... I picked up the wedding gown this week!

My mum, bridesmaid and I all trooped in to Brisbane together, and boy, oh boy, Belladonna Bridal did NOT disappoint. It's perfect. So perfect in fact, that the minute I walked out of the changeroom in the gown, Mum burst into tears. I was doing ok, avoiding her eye, until I glanced at my bridesmaid and saw that she was having a tearie too! Gah! The hormones! We all cried and played with my hair (up, down, up, part-down, up, down, part-up... and on and on) for a while, until I thought that if I didn't take it off soon, I'd demand to sleep in it!

So now we're on the hunt for bridal shoes and earrings for me (I'm thinking jewelled sandals and some blingy drop earrings), a coral dress for my bridesmaid, and then we're pretty much done with the attire! If you see any gorgeous coral / peach dresses suitable for a bridesmaid at a casual wedding whilst you're cruising the shops for Christmas gifts, please email me!

Have a gorgeous weekend,

Time for a break, time for a KitKat

Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY — 2011-12-07T06:18:12Z

Isn't it funny how timing works...?

Not 24 hours after I commented on this lovely, confronting and very true sentiment on a friend's Facebook page, I've realised that it's a good time to take a teensy blogging break. Kind of a 'stop publishing, start living' thing...

It's really important for me to spend a little while focusing on the stuff right in front of me which is incredibly important and special to me, instead of always trying to stay connected to everything that's going on in the blogosphere, which stretches for miles and miles out into the internet. I love you blogging community, I really do. But I also need to take stock of the IRL stuff and get my 'behind-the-scenes' right, before I continue with my 'highlight reel'.

I'll still be here if you need me (which you won't, you're all bloody grown-ups), and I'll keep an ear to the ground. I'm not cutting off the Twitter entirely, but I'll be stepping back from that and Facebook too. I'll definitely keep going with Instagram... it's easy and quick, and non-commital to send photos out into the wild.

Maybe it'll be good for us, this time-out. Maybe you'll discover you miss my blog post emails filling your inbox with my charm, wit and insanely good looks. (Sorry, got a rush of the Zoolander there.) Maybe not. Maybe you'll have a very peaceful time without me.

I'll be back... never fear, my (somewhat crazy and stupid) ramblings and (hopefully delicious) recipes won't go away indefinitely!

Thanks for sticking by me. See you soon.