www.metalicus.com

The only racks of clothes I’ll be rifling through this VFNO are my own.  In honour of it being the official start of spring today as well as it being a big day for fashion I’ve started ironing my white Ts and blouse collection.

My favourite thing to wear with boring but practical white T shirts?  Scarves and Mai Tai’s scarf rings.

www.maitaicollection.com

This is an update on the classic horn scarf rings, in the grande size finished in a gold toned lacquer.

Aside from the irresistible accessories,  Mai Tai’s online store also features a range of bag insert / organisers.  Primarily designed for Hermes bags, any of the inserts also fit bags from other designers and lists of these bags can be found in the information provided on the site for each specific insert.

www.maitaicollection.com

I’ll be happy if my things look half as tidy as this photo.  And I’ll be golden if I can at least find my phone while it’s still ringing and my car keys by the time I get to my car.

The inserts themselves are constructed of a firmly woven linen and made in France.  They are beautifully made as you can see and available in a wide range of colours.

They don’t contain any plastic inserts so aren’t rigid walled which means that they don’t really ‘shape’ the bag that they’re in.  They’re also very light in weight.

In non fashion news from today, I had a special request from Preschooler SSG for a ‘strawberry cake’.  The internet provided me with this recipe for a Basic Strawberry Cake.  I’ve never made a cake using jelly crystals and fresh fruit before so I was intrigued from the moment I started reading the ingredients list.

This is my home made strawberry puree which was made by blitzing a hulled punnet of strawberries with my Braun stick blender.

The packet of jelly crystals got creamed with the butter and sugar.  The end result looked and smelled like strawberry pavlova.

Splurged from some cake flour for the cake.  I realise now I could have made my own at home with plain flour and cornflour.

This was the cake batter.  Such a pretty pink!  It was such a shame the baked cakes didn’t retain that soft pastel pink.

All was not lost in the pastel pink stakes because we frosted the cake with Add A Pinch’s classic vanilla buttercream frosting  that we tinted pink using red food colouring gel.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to cut the cake this evening to taste test it for you because Preschooler SSG wants to bring the cake in for Show and Tell.  I don’t like his chances given the strict food policies at daycares and schools these days….

Did you go to VFNO this year?  What’s the goss?

Have you ever tasted a strawberry cake?