Baking is good for the soul.

PASTEL FLAGS* | BLUE GINGHAM CAKE STAND* | SUGAR FORGET-ME-NOTS*

Second to writing, fashion, and (very amateur) photography, one of my biggest interests in life is baking. In fact, if I were to blog more about one particular subject, it would definitely be food. However, as it is, I don't bake as often as I wear clothes - funnily enough - so the material is not quite so accessible as outfit photos. There's also the small detail that I often devour baked treats before I get the opportunity to take pretty photos of them...

So when The Craft Company offered me a few baking bits to review, I could hardly say no! In my usual girlie style, I picked out a blue gingham cake stand, some pastel sandwich flags, and some pink sugar forget-me-nots. Since strawberries are currently in season - hence absolutely scrummy - we've recently been eating bucketfuls, so I took my new goodies for a spin by whipping up some dark chocolate and strawberry cupcakes - a slightly less sickly cousin to my white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes!

Without a doubt, the bargain of the bunch is the cake stand. Not only does it cost under a fiver, but it is huge. I'll put my hands up and admit that I didn't read the description thoroughly, however for the price I wasn't expecting something quite this size! It can hold up to 40 cupcakes, it's easy to assemble, and the cardboard is sturdy and tough. I'm putting it aside for our wedding, and I'm even toying with the idea of buying another one. The blue gingham will really brighten up our desert table!

Sugar flowers aren't something I use often - I generally prefer to decorate my cakes with fresh fruit, chocolate or sweets - however I figured there was no harm in broadening my horizons. You get 50 flowers for £1.33, and although they're small, they're great quality and really well made. Granted, you'd need a fair few to decorate a single cupcake with them alone, but I quite liked them as a sweet finishing touch.

The pastel sandwich flags are just the cutest, most saccharine way to finish off baked goods and savoury snacks. More understated than Union Flags, and more timeless than the (now somewhat passé) 'Eat Me' flags, they make a lovely, thoughtful topper. Perhaps a fairly easy thing to DIY, however if you're like me and lack time and crafty energy, at £1.44 these are a perfectly practical and affordable alternative.

On the whole, I was very impressed with my little package. All three pieces together come in at less than £10, and I felt like I received a lot for that kind of money. There are no gimmicks or flimsy materials; just good quality, tastefully designed baking products. Definitely a revelation for me, and a new first stop for all things cupcakes and cookies!

Wedding Diary: The Hen Party!

I've been a little absent since last week, but I promise I have a good reason! My hen party was on Saturday, and since it's one of the biggest events in the course of planning a wedding, I wanted to pull out all of the stops and put on a great night for my favourite ladies (amongst whom you may spot familiar faces such as Paige, Chloe, Steph and Sophie). Sometimes planning a whole wedding starts to feel a bit daunting and overwhelming, so spending a while planning something on a smaller scale was extremely refreshing.

I'm not one for big, messy nights out. I got it out of my system in college and when I was a fresher. Nowadays I prefer a good meal out, some nice wine and cocktails - as opposed to sambuca shots and jägerbombs - and quality time with the people I love the most.

It took a while for me to decide what I actually wanted to do for my hen party (my maid of honour knew that I loved event planning, so relinquished control of it early on in the planning process!). I knew that some kind of girlie, creative workshop would go down a treat, so when Sophie proposed the first ever Crown and Glory workshop, I got very excited and the event began to take shape. We set a date for a workshop at my flat in Bath, followed by a meal at The Cosy Club; their cocktails are gorgeous and I love the quirky-cool decor.

Being the foodie that I am, a yummy spread of sweet treats was extremely important to me. The Disneyland Paris inspired cupcake wrappers were bought on eBay and cost £3.50 for a set of twelve; there were a number of castle designs, but I picked the one that most resembled the spot where Grant popped the question. Inside nestled some of my homemade white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes (the overall favourite of the night), served alongside some homemade heart shaped biscuits drizzled with strawberry chocolate.

Since I didn't want to spend all week baking, the other goodies were shop bought for less than £8 in total. The beautiful rose iced cake was reduced to £3.25 in Marks and Spencer, and the carrot cake and Mr Kipling goodies were all on offer at our local supermarket. There was some sparkling rose in the fridge, which was late joined by lots of cava served with fresh British strawberries.

Sophie arrived a few hours early, and filled an array of my teacups and cake stands with beautiful crafty bits and bobs ready for the workshop. She really went above and beyond the call of duty, and the ladies ended up making two or three pieces each which they took home in beautiful lilac Crown and Glory dust bags. Despite my hens not necessarily being the most seasoned crafters, everyone loved it.

The final ingredient was the DIY photo booth. I knocked it together with a couple of bargain metallic curtains, and gathered a selection of fun props from around the flat. I set up my camera on a tripod, turned on self timer, stuck on some cheesy Disney songs and left everyone to have some fun. The next morning we looked through them all whilst devouring tea and toast, and found some absolute crackers!

I was so pleased with the results. We're hoping to do one at the wedding as well, with a very similar set up, and now I know that it's hugely worthwhile. It kept people entertained whilst they weren't at the craft table, and I now have some amazing keepsake photos to remind me of my amazing last girlie night as a single woman. I'll definitely be putting together a photo album or scrapbook when I have the time.

The meal at The Cosy Club was lovely; we all drank delicious cocktails and dined on giant burgers, piles of macaroni cheese and other heartwarming dishes. Afterwards a handful of us returned to my place, finished up what was left of the cava, and spent the early hours of the morning laughing and chatting. Yesterday I fought against my slightly fuzzy head and made the journey back to Cornwall for the last time before the wedding! After such a fab night, I'm so pleased I chose to have my hen do early whilst we were still in Bath.

Thank you so much to Sophie for the workshop, and to all of my hens who made it a very memorable night indeed! I can't wait to have everyone together again at the wedding in September - with a bit of luck we'll be able to have a sleepover the night before with lots of ice cream and a stack of girlie films - if Saturday was anything to go by, it's going to be incredible!

Petite Marie.

DRESS FROM BOOHOO BOUTIQUE* | MACARON EARRINGS FROM LA CAJA OXIDADA*

FLUMP NECKLACE FROM LA CAJA OXIDADA* | HEELS FROM DOROTHY PERKINS

I've been eying up this Boohoo Boutique brocade prom dress for a couple of months now - isn't it a modern Marie Antoinette dream? I've really been loving brocade, however there seem to be very few pastel pieces out there. Since the weather is warming up now - well, kind of - and we're seeing more of the sun, I really want to be wearing more pastels and lighter colours, so this dress is ideal. The gold accents against the pastels make it feel rather decadent, whilst the white net petticoat peeking out underneath keeps it feeling fun and playful.

The delectable jewellery is courtesy of La Caja Oxidada, an independent shop based in Spain that really is sweet as sugar. I mean, honestly, what better way to finish off a Marie Antoinette inspired look than with a delicate pair of pink macaron earrings? Perhaps marshmallow flumps are a little more contemporary, but as a sweet, pastel treat, I'm sure Marie wouldn't have been too adverse to them!

In a similar vein, I've been perfecting my pink strawberry and vanilla meringues in preparation for my hen party on Saturday! Meringues are one of those things that took me a while to get the hang of; even if I followed the recipe to the letter, the egg whites would always collapse. Touch wood, my last few attempts have worked perfectly. If I get the chance, I may even post a recipe soon.