Welcome back to another episode of a zombie in the kitchen. And I have yet another birthday cake for you. Why is there yet another Birthday cake on the blog, you ask? Easy, this was the one I made for Mr. Sew’s belated second birthday celebration with his family a week later. You know, once you hit the big three oh the parties never stop ^^.
Anywho, I even have a recipe for you. The zombie is evolving ;).

Looks yummy, eh? It was super delicious! The recipe is my very own version of various vegan cakes I found online and I’m happy to share it with you today ^^.

For the cake you need:
2 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cacao powder
2/3 cups vegetable oil
2 cups vanilla oat milk (or soy/rice whatever, I prefer oat milk)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch salt

for the frosting:
1 cup of vegan butter (margarine)
1 cup vegetable shortening (Germans, use Palmin Soft)
1/4 cup (vanilla) oat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
a hand full of sprinkles for decoration

(I use my fancy Cupcake Measuring Cups, it makes baking so much easier. If you don’t have those [or other means of measuring cups ;) ], just use Bakingdom’s or the Dutchovendude’s awesome weight conversion chart.)

Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F).

Mix the vinegar and milk and set aside for a moment. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Get your milk-/vinegar mix and whisk with the oil, then combine the mix to your dry ingredients. Get out your hand blender and mix for about three minutes on medium settings.

Fill the dough equally in two well greased and floured round baking pans. Bake for about 35-45 minutes. The cake is done when you stick a toothpick in and it comes out dry. Let them cool comepletly before adding the frosting. Speaking of frosting, I borrowed the recipe for this cake from the Tofu Guru’s dalek cupcakes (with minimal changes)!

Mix vegan butter, vegetable shortening, oat milk and the vanilla extract with your hand blender. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until the frosting reaches just the right consistency. Spread the mix on one of your cakes (thin, remember, it’s super sweet and very rich ^^) and add the second cake one on top of it. Now happily frost the rest of the cake and cover it with colorful sprinkles.

Happy Noms!

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

First of all, thanks a lot for all the wonderful comments on my last post. I can not express how happy I am, to have such awesome blog readers <3. It means the world to me, I’m not just saying this ;).
But now, as I said, back to business. So today I want to show you what set the whole ball rolling, my new shirt(s)! \o/

Just before Christmas I ordered a huge pack of iron on transfer paper and finally put it to good use. It’s a really easy and fun way to prettify boring shirts.. or in my case simple tank tops and undershirts. Add a little bit of lace to collar, a few buttons or bows and you have a unique new shirt.

In the above cases, stole borrowed the images from the stunning artists John Baizley and Karl Bloßfeld.* I found them on this blog (beware! NSFW and NSF the faint-hearted!). I brushed them off and carefully put them back after using, no worries ^^.

Have a great weekend!!

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

*(Disclaimer! I am not making money with these shirts or my blog, so please don’t sue me! I will however tell everyone who asks me, and everyone who doesn’t, how amazing and incredibly talented said artists are :). These shirts are for my private use only and merely my sincere manifestation of admiration!)

I have thought a very long time about wether making this post or not… But okay, I give up. I just want to answer the question once and for all instead of 456168 times xD.

Okay, so here is the deal:

Yes I have lost a little weight. You may say, I lost a lot of weight. I don’t know, how much is a lot? xD
To be honest I feel a little uncomfortable talking about it and won’t talk about actual figures. This has many reasons. For once, this is a very private matter for me and I try to keep very private things off my blog. It’s silly, I know, but I’ve always had issues with how much I weigh. I’ve always tried to keep my confidence and be awesome whatever the scales told me. But deep down inside a little insecure girl was hidden, underneath all the extra kilos.

I just wasn’t happy. I had gained so much weight in the last 5 or so years, it just didn’t feel like me anymore. And being the kid that was always overweight I’ve gone through every diet on this planet and had just given up at some point. Nothing worked.
So when I finally started losing weight a few month ago, I was just too afraid it wouldn’t work out in the end, again. I didn’t want to jinx it and also felt like I was putting too much pressure on me by “going public”. Oh dear, I am way to concerned about what other think of me.

So why am I breaking my silence today? Well for once, I was a little mopey earlier. I posted the above picture from today on facebook, showing off the new shirt I made… and no one was making comments on my shirt, everyone was all “wow, how much weight did you lose?!”. My new shirt was feeling all left out ^^.
The second reason is, that today was a big day for me since I finally reached my first goal in the fight against the scale. I still have a long way to go, but this first, super important step for me is done and I am so incredible proud of myself.

So how did I do it after all? Well, as I said I really never found a diet that helped me. Before September 2011 that was, when the boyfriend told me about this book. I was skeptical, but we both decided to give it a try. And this was maybe the most important factor: We did it together and fully supported each other in all the ups and downs that comes with a new diet. We worked out more together, tried out new, healthier recipes together, watched out for each other, and did the happy scale dance together. I couldn’t have done it without him. He, too, lost a lot of weight and I am so very proud of him, too!
The second big change was that I finally got the right treatment for my thyroid. I changed my doctor and my dose of meds and it really does make a difference.
But I fool you not, it was a hard piece of work!

Okay, there, I said it :D Now can my projects be the center of attention again? xD Kidding. I love you all so very much, and I’m happy for every compliment… but that doesn’t belong on my blog. And it’s not what I did it for. I did it for me, so I would feel better and be happier. And what can I say you, I am much happier. I am not at all saying that with less weight comes more happiness, I just say that FOR ME it was the right thing to do. I had to change something and I feel good with it.

I found this earlier today on pinterest, and it pretty much sums it up! (of course, I am also getting fit for the case of Zombie apocalypse ^^. You know, rule No1 is Cardio xD )

 

So happy I got this off my chest ^^. And now, back to business…

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

You know what I love most about knowing how to sew? Even when you’re broke you can always afford new clothes. Just ask Scarlett O’Hara!
I’ve been drooling over the collections of Blutsgeschwister and Miss Lovett for a while now. Oh so gorgeous! And even though they are reasonably priced, handmade clothing, I still can’t afford them. So, I took a look around my fabric stash and decided to just make my very own design. Ha!

But that is not the only thing I love so much about DIY. As I am not only a big girl but also a tall girl I often have trouble finding clothes that fit me right. I am 180 cm (5’11) and having a shirt that is not too loose around my boobs but still covers my hips (without crawling upwards all the time) is a luxury, believe me. Don’t even get me started on finding jeans my size … LOL. They are next on my learn-how-to-sew list.

Oh, and: When you make your own wear, you can make it as ridiculously kitchy cute as you like!



For this one, I took the pattern from an old shirt of mine, started improvising and tadaa, I have a cool new, über cute hoodie! Super simple and super cheap since most of the materials where gifted, left overs or bargains from the fabric market. I saved the pattern and am making a lot more. If you follow me on twitter you might have seen a sneak peak.

The bow is not only a decorative bow, noo, it is actually a pin I can take it off before washing the hoodie. This way it can stay all pretty without getting tortured in the washing machine. I know right, I am so clever, sometimes I scare myself ;). It also helps hiding all the little sewing flaws like a stubborn hood. Lala ^^.

But enough talking, let’s bring on the cam whoring ^^.

Look at the sad excuse for snow we have here. I can’t wait to be in Finland next month, with -20°C and 30-50 cm of snow <3.

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

*The title origins from an insider I share with my friends. It’s actually the Hoddie of Evilness, since we noticed that whenever people go/do evil in the movies, they put on a hood. Like anakin Skywalker or Donny Darko or … idk, E.T. ^^. I tell you it’s in everywhere, keep an eye out for the evil hoodies next time you watch a movie.

Tweet

As I said before, I can not bake, but that won’t stop me. So whenever you see this banner don’t expect it to get pretty xD.

My boyfriend celebrated his 30th birthday the other day. In his honours I organized a little Doctor Who themed party. Some of the yummiest creations I served that night I wanted to show you. And no, I don’t care that you’re probably sick of all the who-y goodness I’m posting recently :p. Blame it on the Doctor obsessed birthday boy if you have to.

Anyway, one thing I made was Fish fingers with custard. (If you don’t know why, please read the explanation you find behind the link or watch the first episode of new Doctor Who series, season 5 ^^). I found the recipe on my favorite ever food blog Bakingdom.

My cookies didn’t turn out as perfect as Darla’s (they came out of the oven a little too flat), but nevertheless I fooled the boyfriend on first sight and it was so very delicious!

The other sweet treat I made origins from this amazing video: Vegan Dalek Cupcakes.

Lately I am obsessed with the idea of baking vegan. I am not a vegan, “just” a vegetarian, but I try to eat at least one vegan meal a day. It’s not much, but a start. I could never go fully vegan (I love cheese too much ^^) but admire everyone who is.
My diet doesn’t allow me much dairy products anyways, leaving out the eggs, too, wasn’t that much of a problem so I kept true to the recipe. The cakes aren’t looking too bad, eh? They tasted great as well. The only downside was that they where a bit crumbly. Adding the frosting was tricky but doable.

And here they are. My Dalek Cupcakes. If you know anything about Daleks you might have already noticed that they have neither weapons nor can the see… the explanation is simple: I just ran out of time. I was cooking all day and it was either making the Dalek vision and weaponry or taking a shower before the guests arrived. What can I say, the shower won ^^.

So.. these are blind, disarmed, demilitarized Daleks. But who needs a death ray when you are so sweet you can easily cause diabetes, eh? xD Seriously, they where very tasty, but half the sugar would have been enough ^^.

At least, this one had a birthday candle to defend himself.

Thanks for reading!

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

A little while ago my friend Iris asked me to make her pyjama pants. Usually I am not too fond on getting sewing requests from friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all to bits ans pieces and would do anything for them, but I want it to stay that way ;). It’s like this: once you start saying yes to hemming one person’s curtains it can easily pile up to an amount of work I just can’t handle. So, if too many requests pile up I tend to get a wee bit cranky. That’s not good! And since I only have very little free time to sew I have to be egoistic once in a while ^^.

However, I do say yes sometimes. If it’s for a special occasion or something that really grabs my attention, something out of the ordinary, or a really nerdy project I’ll most likely agree to be your personal bitch seamstress.
Anyways, so my friend Iris came to me with the request for Doctor Who PJs, made from a fabric she’s seen on spoonflower. I fell in love with it at first sight (if you read my blog/twitter you might have noticed that I love the show) and so the adventures of the Whojamas began.

It’s the super soft jersey spoonflower offers. I can highly recommend it. The quality is AMAZING!

(sorry for the bad iphone pictures)

 

I used Burda pattern 7534-DL. It was super simple, but beware, the sizes turn out to be a lot bigger than planed. I had to add some extra darts and an additional elastic band to stop the pants from falling off my friend’s hips. And I already used a size 34 (she’s normally a size 36) since elastic jersey like this one is always a bit tricky when it comes to finding the right size. But alas, they are PJ pants after all and PJs need to be huge to be comfy, right?

(picture credit: Iris)

 

They are also a little bit long. But I wasn’t allowed to shorten them ^^. Iris refused to take them off long enough for me to do so. But hey, Iris happy = Trisha happy :D. And now, all 11 incarnations of the Doctor can keep her warm during the cold Finnish winters.

Oh, btw, I was allowed to keep the rest of the fabric for myself, har!

Liebe Grüße,
Trisha

I will never grow tired of posting pictures of my adorable rats.

Speaking of tired…

Lumi looks like a ferret when she’s sleeping, resting her little body on her girlfriends’ butts ^^. What sleeping positions rats find comfortable I will never apprehend.

This picture was taken on Mr. Sew’s Birthdayparty. Lumi could not stand not being the center of attention for one night and was always trying to climb on the table, taking the shortcut via my feet xD.

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

Happy Birthday, Mr Sew!
I love you <3

Deine Trisha

I already showed off what I got for Christmas, but I didn’t show you what I gave away this year. So this is where this post comes in handy.

The number of handmade gifts I made was significantly smaller than the last year. I just hadn’t had the time. But there are a few thing I made, and some new stuff I tried. Like making your own bath and beauty products. I did some researching on the net and was convinced it shouldn’t be so hard (of course I was only looking into projects for beginners). I found some nifty links, ordered a few ingredients online and had a real blast making the following items:

Mango-Coconut Body Scrub and Honey-Vanilla Peeling. Oh my kitchen smelled so good ^^. Super easy and I love the outcome. It’s also great to work natural ingredients such as honey and sugar into beauty products.

Bath- and Showerbars (vanilla scented). Super easy to make and great for beginner. You can find the recipe on this amazing blog.

Bathbombs in different colors. These where the hardest to make. My first attempt went horribly wrong *lol* For the second try I added a little more shea butter to keep it from crumbling away under my finger tips. Oh and don’t get me started on the “Cupcake frosting” I originally wanted to add.. ahem.

After wrapping everything I made fabric baskets, added some personal gifts and gave them way. Everyone loved it (or so they said ^^).

It was really fun trying out something new. The only trouble is, that you need so many different ingredients and these aren’t always cheap. So I was making sure to make the most of it. After all I’m happy with the outcome and might try it again, anytime.

Liebe Grüße, Trisha

P.S. Don’t get too attached to the new header ^^. It’s far from being pretty. But I couldn’t stand the old layout for a minute longer ^^. I’ll re-design the blog .. soon xD

I love baking! I love making cake and sweets, and pastries and cookies. The problem is: I am not very good at it. Ahem. But since practice makes perfect and one should do what one loves I’m not going to stop. Instead I’ll show off some of my distorted desserts and disastrous creations from my little kitchen from hell ^^. Try and stop me, haha!

So, who’s better to begin with than this real beauty: This is Chubby Kitty, Hello Kitty’s lesser known and dissimulated sister. As her name already gives it away: she’s a little chubby, you can tell by the abnormal number of chins. But that is totally okay. Who isn’t? The real reason why no one in her family likes to talk about her is her little problem with alcohol. Maybe that is why she has such a deranged look on her face? I cannot say for sure. But she is very happy! After all she is filled with chocolate and lots and lots of booze!

I made her for NYE and was feeling very fancy. So I bought the smallest ridiculously overpriced bottle of Champagne I could find. It was delicious and could be the real reason why Kitty looks the way she does. After a while into baking Trisha was filled with chocolate and booze, too… one should not taste too much of the filling when one hasn’t been eating anything else all day.

After all I can say: making cake is twice as much fun when you’re drunk!

Chubby Kitty is made from two layers of simple sponge cake. I was following this recipe *klick*.
For the filling I used a simple pudding mix but instead of the required 400 ml of milk I added 250 ml of Champagne. For the frosting I used pre-made vanilla frosting, then draw the kitty’s face on with food coloring. I enjoyed the rest of the bottle while waiting for the frosting to set.

Chubby Kitty was super delicious and everyone on the party enjoyed her charming personality ^^.

It’s my boyfriend’s birthday this weekend, be prepared for more deranged cake making!

Liebe Grüße, Trisha