{Christmas Prizeapolooza} Perfectly Piped deliciousness = the sweetest giveaway

There is a new cake-maker on the block and you better start paying attention!

Perfectly Piped is locally owned and operated by lovely husband/wife duo Tara Campanaro and Sam Gibb.

What started only a short time ago (March 2014) has developed into this wildly popular product that you will find at all the local markets.

The business is growing so quickly that you can also find Perfectly Piped deliciousness at Johnny Bean Good Drive-Thru Coffee Chop on Durham Street, Bathurst and Pick of the Bunch Florist in Oberon.

Offering a wide range of services including customised cakes and floral designs, I recommend you put Perfectly Piped on your speed dial now!

The best, sneaky thing about Perfectly Piped is the delightfully scrumptious flavours, in fact, I can personally recommend the little cheesecakes in a jar! They make the ideal gift (or even better a present to yourself from yourself!)

Why not grab some scrumptious sweetness for your loved ones this Christmas?

Contact:

| Phone 0432 966 191 |

| Email perfectlypolished19@hotmail.com |

| Facebook www.facebook.com/perfectlypipedcupcakes |

Perfectly Piped’s Tara and Sam have generously donated to one VERY lucky Nester four (4) deliciously delightful cheesecakes in jars.

For you chance to win all you have to do is head over to Facebook and like The Central Nest, the competition post on the The Central Nest‘s Facebook and be a ‘liker’ of Perfectly Piped. EASY!

(Remember for an additional entry ‘tag’ a friend!)

Prize will be drawn 5pm 21 December 2014

19Jun2014

{Life Hack} So, apparently you have been doing this wrong on birthdays for like, ever.

Posted in Organise your nest, The Nest Can Cook, The nest eats by centralwestnest

Hold on to your party pants people because you have been doing it wrong all these years.

Image: Pinterest

Birthday cake should be cut like this (well, the scientists say anyway!).

I am not sure I am that committed, I just wack it in the freezer and feed it to the hubby-bird in his work lunch for the next week.

Enjoy Nesters x

16May2014

{Christmas Prizeapolooza Update} Delicious Mud Cake Indulgence

Posted in Locally found, This is life by centralwestnest

Just before Christmas we had our first ever Christmas Prizeapolooza. This was a fabulous success and we will never be able to thank the many local businesses that jumped on board and helped us celebrate the festive season by giving away loads of brilliant and generous gifts to some very lucky Nesters.

One of the wonderful businesses involved was the gorgeous Katrina from Cakes by Katrina.

She is one of those ridiculously talented people who can not only bake a delicious cake but can make it look like a million bucks at the same time!

The lovely Fiona Gilbert was the lucky winner of our Christmas Prize and shared this picture with us.

katrina cake 2

This was a delicious chocolate mud cake and Fiona assures us it was simply scrumptious!

We thank Katrina for being so generous and you can find more information about Cakes By Katrina here -> Facebook – Cakes By Katrina

19Apr2014

{The Nest Can Cook} Easter Cake Off Peeps!

Posted in Organise your nest, The Nest Can Cook, The nest eats by centralwestnest

With absolutely no guarantee of success we present to you, Easter cakes 101.

We have found a collection of fabulous cakes celebrating Easter that you can make for your family and friends.

Just click on the picture to find the recipe!

Or if cupcakes aren’t your thing why not try a bunny cake?

Or perhaps you prefer the more traditional carrot cake (but in cute individual serves!)

Happy Easter Nesters!

20Jan2014

{Love Birds} Leigh & Stuart and their happily ever after

Posted in Love birds by centralwestnest

“For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. “ Rosemonde Gerard

There are some weddings that simply show true love. This wedding is one such example. A combination of impeccable taste, exquisite attention to detail and handmade touches make this honestly one of the most beautiful weddings I have seen. Leigh and Stuart show what love is and how simply beautiful a wedding can be. Happily ever after is not a term to be used lightly but sometimes it is just right. Here are Mr & Mrs McLean – Happily Ever After.

The Love birds: Stuart McLean, 27 year old diesel mechanic & Leigh Stapleton, 29 year old Teacher

Ceremony: In Carcoar at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception. We wanted an intimate church with lots of character and beautiful light for our photographs.

Reception: Athol Gardens, Blayney. We looked at every venue in the district but when we walked in to Athol Gardens we both knew it was perfect for us. Stunning gardens and an outdoor terrace that suited our taste to a tee.

Theme: Just a mixture of our favourite things- black, white, beige with a touch of lace and a splash of electric blue

The Dress: Ivory, strapless, silk gown with a ruched bodice and flowing skirt from Wendy Makin Couture Leigh says she tried on so many dresses and loved them all! She made a top 5 and chose this one mainly for the gorgeous silk fabric. She added a flower from another dress she loved. Leigh says ‘I wore electric blue shoes for my something blue, my grandmother’s pearls for my something old and wore my sister’s veil as something borrowed’.

Groom & wedding party attire: The bridesmaids wore dresses floor length chiffon dresses from Seduce in a soft dusty pink.

Groom & Groomsmen wore light grey suits with white shirts and white silk ties.

Hair: Wavelength Bathurst

Makeup: Macquarie Skin & Day Spa

Decorations: Table centres- large 3 wick candles wrapped in black lace & ribbon

Bonbonnieres – Little jars of Rhubarb jam (made by the bride) & White violas in beige ceramic pots with custom labels made by the bride

Food:

Canapés: Prawns with chilli & lime salt; Arancini balls with spinach and buffalo mozzarella; Duck in crisp wonton cups; Chilli feta and crispy pancetta crostini

Mains: Herb crusted rack of lamb on a bed of creamy potato mash with roast vegetable salad or Spanish chicken breast with quince sauce, green beans, potato gallette and baked butternut pumpkin

Dessert: Vanilla Pannacotta and slow roasted rhubarb with a vanilla tuile or Chocolate Hazelnut praline with chocolate sauce

Cake: One tier tall round carrot cake with layers of cream cheese, covered in butter cream icing and topped with fresh roses the same as the bouquets. The Bride says she made the cake herself (even though everyone thought she was crazy – but really she says she is just too picky to trust anyone else) and the cake topper and bouquets were by Florabundance.

Drinks: Local Wines from Cumulus and Angullong and a selection of beers and spirits.

Photographer: Jennifer Stocks from Jennifer Stocks Photography– the most amazing photographer! Jen usually only photographs babies and families but we twisted her arm as an old friend to capture our day. We could be happier with our photos taken around beautiful Carcoar.

Rings: The wedding bands are Quorra purchased at WJ Coote and Sons. Leigh has a white gold diamond wedder and a plain band either side of my engagement ring and Stuart chose a thick white gold plain band.

Stationary: All stationary was handmade by the bride including the invitations, service booklets, escort cards and table numbers. The stationary supplies were purchased at Fantasia in Bathurst.

Music: The couple chose country music singer Kaylee Bell to perform at the church and she further entertained the guests in the garden at Athol afterwards during drinks and canapés.

Special moments: The bride says she started crying before she even pulled up at the church! Then she walked in and saw that half the church was crying including the groom & groomsmen! – She says as soon as she saw Stuart standing there she couldn’t help but smile.

Our beautiful guest book was a wedding gift from a very special friend. She drew a tree and our guests put their finger prints as the leaves and signed it. We have it hanging on the wall in our house as a reminder of our special day.

Our amazing honeymoon in France and Italy was definitely a highlight too – an experience we will never forget. The most special thing for us was having our favourite people together to help us celebrate!

Guests: 100

Cost: Approximately $27,000.00

Stockists:

Reception: Athol Gardens – 84 Newbridge Rd, Blayney – 02 6368 2639

Photographer: Jennifer Stocks Photography – 0401 004 373

Dress: Wendy Makin Couture – 07 3823 0111

Bridesmaid dress: Seduce

Hair: Wavelength Bathurst – 97 Keppel Street, Bathurst 02 6331 5086

Make up – Macquarie Skin & Day Spa – Shop 2 / 169 Howick Street, Bathurst 02 6332 2062

Flowers/cake topper: Florabundance – 90B Bentinck St, Bathurst – 02 6332 1822

Rings: WJ Coote and Sons 69 William Street, Bathurst – 02 6331 3017

Stationary: Fantasia 2/91 Rankin St, Bathurst NSW 2795 – 02 6331 8688

3Jan2014

{Delicious} Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Posted in The Nest Can Cook by centralwestnest

Soooo, this ~~probably~~, ~~maybe~~, definitely isn’t likely to be the best help for any health new years resolutions you have made in the last few days but this was just too pretty/delicious/cute not to share.

Buzzfeed has compiled 33 of the best cakes you are likely to see in a while. You can find the link here -> Buzzfeed – Cutest Cakes of 2013

There is everything from cheesecakes to ombre to gummy bears.

As they say, “If you ever doubt that the world is a beautiful place, just remember: We’ll always have sugar, butter and flour”.

Happy sugar loading Nesters!

13Dec2013

{Prizeapolooza} Need some sweetening up this Christmas?

Posted in Locally found, The Nest giveaways by centralwestnest

You are either a naturally gifted baker… or you are me. Katrina Tobin is a superstar of the first variety!

Katrina is a qualified chef who started her business while at home also looking after her three children! She has been making speciality cakes for all occasions for the people of the Central West since 2012.

Cakes by Katrina are not only wonderful to look at, they also back up their appearance with a delicious taste. Your tastebuds will dance once you try one of her cakes (I can personally attend to that!)

Prior to Katrina’s entry into the marketplace, Bathurst did not have a wide variety of cake suppliers who were actually able to deliver awesome handmade-hand-decorated cakes at a reasonable price!

All products are individually designed and tailored specifically to your needs – and the best bit…the absolute magnitude of flavour choices to choose from!

So whenever the need for cakes, cupcakes, biscuits or cake pops strikes (for example every Wednesday at 3.17pm in my office) Katrina is the person who should be on your speed dial!

You now have an answer for your wedding, engagement or christening cakes! She also offers novelty cakes, cake toppers and the best birthday cakes you have ever seen!

You can contact Cakes by Katrina as follows:

Phone: 0438 442 028

Email: cakesbykatrinatobin@hotmail.com

Website: Coming SOON!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakesbykatrinatobin

Cakes by Katrina are baking their way into your heart by offering one very special Nester the chance to take home their very own handmade, scrumptious chocolate mud Christmas cake this year (valued at approximately $70.00!) Imagine how much that would impress the in-laws (or out-laws as my hubby-bird calls them!) For your chance to win all you have to do is be a ‘liker’ of Cakes by Katrina’s Facebook page and be a ‘liker’ of The Central Nest!

6Nov2013

Perch a bird on your goodies

Posted in Great pieces by centralwestnest

The smell. The sense of achievement. The delicious calories.

Nothing beats homemade goodies such as cakes and muffins. They taste different to the boxed ones and when you display them beautifully you can appreciate your effort for just a little while longer.

These Nel Lusso Gelato cake stands are beautiful. Available from Lime Tree Kids for $39.95. They would make a great Christmas present (to me, from me).

Plus – we love the little birdies!

Happy cooking (and shopping) little nesters!

29Aug2013

Michelle & Shawn – A beautiful marriage

Posted in Love birds by centralwestnest

‘Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails’ Corinthians 13:7

Love Birds is one of our very favourite sections and nothing makes us happier than sharing the details of a beautiful day with you. What makes this just a little bit more special is the fact that this also happens to include a few of my very favourite people. Congratulations to local couple Michelle and Shawn on their wonderful wedding day and thank you for sharing the details of your special day with us.

Michelle, Shawn and their children Kaelie & Noah

The Love Birds: Michelle Eviston and Shawn Ryan

Ceremony: At the Assumption Church, West Bathurst. We chose this church because it has such sentimental value to us, as both of our parents were also married there.

Reception: In the Panorama Room at Panthers Bathurst.

Theme: Black, pink and silver colours and cocktail attire for the guests.

The reception

The Dress: An ivory strapless dress, with a princess neckline and corseted bodice (Unsure of the designer, but it fitted perfectly like a glove).

Groom & wedding party attire: The groom, groomsmen and page boy wore black suits with black shirts. The groom wore an ivory vest and tie. The groomsmen and page boy wore silver vests and ties.

The bridesmaids had fuchsia pink floor length strapless gowns with silver shoes and a bouquet of blue Singapore orchids and pink oriental lilies.

The flower girl had a baby pink, shoestring strap dress with silver shoes and carried a basket of oriental lilies and blue orchid buds.

Decorations: The church had tall vases in the aisle with clear gel balls and blue LED lights with a lily floating on top. We also had silver ribbons on the pews.

The reception continued our colour theme. We chose black tablecloths and chair covers with pink table runners and chair sashes supplied by Posh designs. The bridal table was covered with a white tablecloth and each chair had a pink sash. We also displayed the bridesmaids bouquets in vases at the front of the table.Michelle made the table centrepieces herself. They were a beautiful float bowl containing gel balls and LED lights on the bottom with an oriental lily and blue Singapore orchids floating above.

As a personal touch, we created the table numbers from photos of ourselves at that particular age. For example table six had a photo of the two of us aged six and a copy of the menu on the back.

Food: We chose a delicious three course menu

For entrée we had alternate drop of Tomato and Leek Tart or Baked Mushrooms
Our mains consisted of Pork loin cutlet served with an apple glaze on a bed of sweet potato or Lamb loin with herb crust finished with a mint jus
The dessert was our wedding cake served with cream and strawberries

Cake: We had a beautiful chocolate and white chocolate three tier mud cake. The cake was created by Jaime’s Cakes and was white with pink ribbons and a diamanté heart. We also had a personalised bobble-head cake topper.

Drinks: We had an open bar for our guests and offered beer, wine, champagne and soft drink.

Photographer: Candid Photos of a Lifetime captured our day perfectly, we can look through our album and relive the whole day and feel every emotion. Great price, great photographer

Cars: We used three white Toyota Aurions for the bridesmaids and a black H3 hummer for Michelle (her favourite car).

Rings: Shawn’s wedding ring is white and yellow gold with one diamond and was purchased from Angus and Coote. Michelle’s ring was purchased from a jewellery store in Bondi Junction Westfield and is a yellow gold band with diamonds.

Stationary: Luckily enough one of the bridesmaids (the bride’s sister) happens to be a graphic designer and created the invitations. Michelle made the church booklets herself using supplies purchased from Fantasia Bathurst.

Special moments: The whole day was wonderful but the part that we will remember forever is the moment when we were announced as husband and wife. Michelle says ‘It made my heart flutter in such a good way”.

The love birds with their bridal party

Guests: We had about 90 people celebrate our day with us.

Cost: Approximately $10,000

STOCKISTS:

Jaime’s Cakes – Can be found on Facebook at Jaime’s Cakes

Utter Entertainment – You can find their website at Utter Entertainment or speak with Gavin Pears on 0419 431 774

Posh Designs – Lisa Smith is available at 0407 226 321

Candid Photos of a Lifetime can be found on Facebook at Candid Photos of a Lifetime

Panthers Bathurst – 132 Piper Street Bathurst (02) 6330 0600

Fantasia 2/91 Rankin Street Bathurst (02) 6331 8688

8Aug2013

Cake Star!

Posted in The nest eats by centralwestnest

You know how some people are great bakers who can make their children’s birthday cakes without really trying and they look like they came from a Donna Hay magazine? Well, then there is other people (read: me).

I love trying and my last effort was a Woman’s Weekly carousel cake for my toddler-bird’s 2nd birthday. To make a short story even shorter, the story goes a little like this. Mumma-bird finds wonderful carousel cake. Mumma-bird completely massacres structure. Mumma-bird learns that structure is important. Mumma-bear then yells profanities at her little sister (who by this time clearly regrets offering to help) and demands papa-bear come home with his angle grinder and sanding disk to resurrect mumma-bear’s disaster. Mumma-bear then finally finishes ‘cake’ amongst swear words and metal shards. Thinking back, probably not what Mrs Woman’s Weekly envisaged when sharing beautiful carousel cake recipe.

So when I find someone who is talented and clever at making cakes, I rejoice. Cakes by Katrina Tobin is somewhat of a saviour for mums like me whose greatest achievement today was making my toddler-bird a gourmet sandwich (okay, it was a vegemite sandwich, BUT it was on grain).

Katrina Tobin is a star. She makes cakes for all types of occasions and is contactable on 0438 442 028 (note to self: put on speed dial).