Happy 12th Birthday - fish, tacos & cake!

What a wonderful weekend we have just had. It was my daughter's 12th birthday celebration and it seems only a moment ago I remember looking at her lying in her cot or holding her whilst she rested her tiny head on my shoulder. I wish pottery painting had been around then as I could have captured the memory of her tiny hands and feet forever. Just like this:

                      or this   

Well, she is almost a teenager now and she chose to have a fish pedicure for her birthday followed by a sleepover. We went along to the Wonderfish Spa in the Royal Star Arcade in Maidstone (www.wonderfishspa.co.uk) where we were ably looked after by the staff there. It is a natural, organic method of looking after your feet  but has the added benefits of stimulating acupuncture points, regulating the nervouse system and releasing fatigue. It also boosts your circulation and is said to be good for psoraisis and eczema.

Firstly the girls had their feet pre-washed in anti bacterial skin friendly solution and then it was time to take the plunge and put their feet into the tank with the fish!

The fish have no teeth but I think the sensation of the fish gently 'kissing' their feet was a little strange at first but once they go used to it they had a fun and relaxing treatment. There was lots of giggling and even laughing out loud initially but at the end (after 15 mins) their feet felt rejuvenated and really smooth. Thanks wonderfish!

It was then off for a quick bit of shopping and then home for beef tacos followed by birthday cake, handmade by my Mum.

It looked fantastic before it was devoured by six hungry girls! My Mum used the baker's secret of putting stock syrup over the cake which made the cake incredibly moist and really delicious. Thanks Mum x

For the stock syrup: Whilst your cake is cooking mix 100g of caster sugar and 200ml water together in a pan. Put the pan over low heat and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil for 1 minute then take pan off the heat. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush it liberally with the syrup to make cake/cakes really moist. Leave cake/cakes to cool. This syrup can be put onto cake that has been cook a few days earlier to moisten it. Any syrup left over can be keeped in the fridge. It is possible to add a few drops of vanilla extract to the syrup or even a spirit of liqueur (rum is especially good with chocolate cake).

The girls finally all fell asleep after watching Legally Blonde 1, 2 and 3!

Happy Birthday baby girl!