We finally put our tree up and we are very proud!
My Christmas Tree would not be complete without a Christmas Duck Bauble.
I found this little guy on a shopping trip to Basingstoke in Tiger. They have a whole range of Christmas Baubles. Check out the link here to see.
We had a lovely evening decorating the tree, a theme of Ducks, Baking, Harry Potter and Disney. The bottle of wine was nice too!
So my flatmate has just gone for a shower. That is where I got my inspiration for today’s Duck of the Day.
Today’s Duck is Quackers. Quackers is a lovely shea butter soap in duck form! Picture below. Yes picture of the duck, not my flatmate in the shower… sorry to disappoint, but we are not that kind of blog.
How cute is he! I sense a whole new brand about to emerge here. I mean “Dove” is a brand of soap, so why not “Duck”? Oh wait, probably because it is already a toilet cleaner. You don’t want to wash with the same thing you clean your loo with.
Update on shower status: Flatmate has emerged from the shower as I am halfway through this post. We are now on the subject of duck and soap related puns and I just really had to share her golden egg of tonight. “Imperial Feather”. I can’t breathe 😂😂😂. Shortly followed by “Molton Down” and “Radux”.
Anyway, I found Quackers the Duck soap on notonthehighstreet.com. Click here to view. You definitely need to buy this. You shower right? Shower in style! #BeakyClean
On the 10th day of Duckmas, A little bit Quackers gives to thee: The only wedding gift you’ll ever need.
I love these! A Bud Duck is always a quality Duck and these little sets are perfect for weddings and anniversaries. I just love the Groom’s removable hat!!
Would also make a very cute wedding cake topper.
Click here for Bride and Groom
Click here for Groom and Groom
Click here for Bride and Bride
You really can get a duck for any occasion! I first saw these ducks at The Duck House (which is where the links above will take you) and I just thought they were adorable. Unfortunately I forgot about this the last wedding I went to!
Yesterday we went for Best of British but today we are waddling over the pond to the U.S.A. This duck is the duck of the day due to it being the first duck I ever owned. This duck started the mild obsession that has now ended up in a flat full of Ducks. I won’t go into the story of how my duck collection spiralled as I have told that one before, but you can click here to hear the story of how one Statue of Liberduck turned into a rather large collection.
Sadly I could not find the exact same Statue of Liberduck duck pictured above (this duck was bought over 10 years ago from America) but there is a very cute little alternative below.
Buy from Just Ducks by clicking here.
Feeling a little bit patriotic today, so therefore today’s Duck of the Day is taking a very British form.
I stumbled across a website tonight called British Corner Shop and I’m a little bit sad that I have not been here before! it is an online store for ex pats around the world to ensure that you can still get all your favourite British brands wherever you are! It is not all food, they do cosmetics, books and gifts. Gifts is where I stumbled upon these Duck(s) of the day.
I do feel like I am maybe cheating a little but here but I could not narrow it down to just one duck today. Could not have the queen without her guards right?
Queen Elizabeth Duck
Can you get more British than the Queen? Her majesty is available from The British Corner Shop by clicking here. Queen Elizabeth is currently the second oldest serving state leader at 92 and the longest reigning British monarch in history. She has a fondness for Corgis and is the only person in the country who can legally drive without a driving license!
Royal Guard Duck
This duck is available here. These Queens Guards are seen as being very British, with thousands of tourists having their photos taken with them every year. However there are many videos in where they have got in the way of the guards performing their duties and these guards will not take a second thought when it comes to rightly moving you out of their way. Don’t think the same will happen with this duck, but he is a very cute souvenir!
Police Constable Duck
I had to include him too. Mainly because of the gifting opportunities this duck has! I have a lot of police in the family and this duck would make a great Birthday/Christmas present for any serving or ex police officer. Also as a new job gift, retirement gift, the list goes on. Police Duck is available here!.
Enjoy 🙂
Sam
I have been very good this year. Honest. Look at this!
I have a lovely little collection of Swarovski Crystal ducks which have been gifted to me over the years but this is an entirely different puddle of duck.
Currently selling for £120 from The Duck House, there is only 180 of these in the world. How cool is that. This is a very special duck… look how shiny it is 😍
So like a said previously, I have been very good this year, so Santa baby, slip a Swarovski Duck under the tree for me? 🙏
Today was the day that O2 failed and half the world ceased to function as a result. This reminded me of an advert from way back in 2009. If you have not seen it please click here to watch as I do believe it was one of the best adverts made, but I could be biased considering the theme.
I work in the customer service industry and did actually sympathise with O2 today. It bares a resemblance to occasions where we have had to stop trading due to technical difficulties, and trust me you feel just as crappy about it when it is your business causing the drama as you do being the customer who is affected by it!
Looking at O2’s social media right now I would most definitely not like to be in their complaints resolution department at this present moment in time. It does make me sad how people seem to so easily forget that the person on the other end of the screen/phone/counter is a human being and subject them to so much abuse. This happens every day, not just on days like today when the countries biggest mobile phone network fails. The shop workers that you abuse daily on your way to work could already be having a tough enough day without having to deal with your disrespect. It takes very little to be kind.
However back to O2, I did feel very lost without my phone today, I actually had to do work using pen and paper which I have not done for a long time!
Lots of grumbly people, but if O2 hadn’t had their issues today I never would have remembered about their 2009 hook a duck advert campaign and therefore would not have had them as Duck of the Day. Every cloud and silver linings.
So following on from the Unicorn Cupcakes here I conveniently stumbled across an advert for this lovely little glow in the dark unicorn duck. It is a little bit creepy how Facebook stalks your life to tailor its adverts to whatever you’re talking about.
This year definitely seemed to be all about unicorns 🦄
Available from my favourite shop for £16.99 The Duck House
Christmas time, lots of cupcakes and wine.
Who wants mistletoe when you can have cupcakes?
I have neglected the baking side of this blog for far too long so we are back with a little bit of festive flair. These were baked for an early Christmas gathering which was the perfect opportunity to rustle up something nice. Actually I got a little bit carried away and made three cakes. This is because I found some unicorn cupcake cases and could not resist baking something colourful.
Vanilla Cupcakes (Unicorns and Christmas Trees)
Recipe: (This will bake 12 cupcakes):
*180g Caster sugar – (I am a very loyal Billington’s golden caster sugar fan)
*180g Butter – (Again I am very loyal to Stork, makes the best cakes!)
*3 Large Eggs – (Weigh them, should be approximately 180g
*180g Self raising flour
*1/2 tsb of vanilla extract
*1/2 tsb of baking powder
You will also need cupcake cases. I got the ones below from Morrisons, a nice cupcake case can really make a cupcake and give it an individual look.
For the buttercream icing:
*350g Unsalted butter
*700g Icing sugar
*1tsp Vanilla Extract
*A selection of gel food colourings. I always use gel as it does not water down the icing and gives a much bolder colour.
*3-5 tsp of whole milk (amount will vary on consistency of the icing)
*Some festive and colourful decorations. – I got the Christmas ones and Unicorn sparkles from Morrisons.
Baking the cakes: (Very Easy!):
*Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
*Mix the caster sugar and butter together until it is nice and fluffy. I know some people swear by the all in one cake method but I find that getting all the air into the mixture at the start really makes a cupcake light and airy.
*Mix the eggs into the mixture along with the vanilla extract and baking powder
*Add the flour and you should have a nice smooth cake mixture.
*Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases in a cupcake tray and bake for 20-25 mins. Test with a skewer, if needed bake for a few more mins. Then leave on a wire rack to cool.
Making the Icing:
*Beat the butter until it is smooth and add the vanilla extract
*Slowly add the icing sugar to the butter, make sure the consistency stays smooth. If the mixture gets too thick add some of the milk and keep mixing in the icing sugar.
*Add milk to make the icing a pipe-able consistency.
For both the unicorn and Christmas tree cupcake I added a marshmallow to the middle. This means the cupcakes can have the correct height without having too much icing.
Icing the Christmas Trees:
*Add the green gel food colouring to the buttercream and mix in well. It should become the lovely shade of green below
*I used a large open star icing tip and piping bag to pipe the icing in swirls around the marshmallow in the middle.
*Add round candy sprinkles to the tree for Christmas decorations and a star on top.
Easy right!
Icing the Unicorn cupcakes:
*This is super easy as you do not need to colour the buttercream!
*Use the same open star icing tip but this time you need to paint stripes up the inside of the piping bag before you put the buttercream into the bag. I did one stripe of pink, purple and blue to get the squirly effect below.
*Decorate with sprinkles and unicorn confetti. I added a touch of edible glitter just to give it a bit of unicorn sparkle.
So both very easy to achieve and they got a lot of compliments on how unique and quirky they were, and they tasted fabulous too.
Chocolate Cupcakes:
Recipe (This will bake 12 cupcakes):
*180g Unsalted butter
*170g Caster sugar
*120g Self raising flour
*1tsb of Baking Powder
*40g of Cocoa Powder
*3 Large Eggs
*1tsb of Baking Powder
For the Icing:
*60g of Unsalted butter
*250g Icing Sugar
*30g Cocoa Powder
*3tbsp of Whole Milk
*Decorations – The Holly is from Morissons
Baking the cakes:
*Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
*Mix the butter and caster sugar together until fluffy (Again, I am not a fan of the all in one method, with chocolate cakes you need to get as much air into them as possible)
*Add the cocoa powder and eggs to the mixture then fold in the flour and baking powder to keep the air in the mixture.
*Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases in a cupcake tray and bake for 12-15 mins, check if the are cooked with a skewer. Cakes should be risen and spongey to touch. If not cooked check again after 2 mins.
*Cool on a wire rack.
Making the chocolate icing:
*Melt the butter (I did this in the microwave)
*Add the cocoa powder to the melted butter and then slowly add the icing sugar and beat well to make sure it does not go lumpy.
*If the icing gets too thick then add the milk a little at a time to make sure it is the correct consistency for piping.
*This icing comes out really glossy and shiny, I think it may be a new favourite!
Icing the cupcakes:
*I used a slightly smaller open star tip for these cupcakes and did not put a marshmallow in these ones as I wanted a gelatin free option.
*Put the icing into a piping bag and pipe in swirls to cover the cake.
*I decorated these with some edible holly decorations and a bit of gold edible glitter.
I was super chuffed with these! They were so easy to make, no mucking around with colours or any of that. The glitter just gives them a little bit of flair but they are simple and cute.
I got so much positive feedback on these which was lovely after not baking anything for so long. I think I may have been bitten by the baking bug all over again 🙂
On the 4th day of Duckmas Lewis sent to me: A duck from the pirates of the Caribbean movie.
If you didn’t sing that in your head I am a little bit sad. If you sung it out loud you are wonderful.
I do have a Jack Sparrow duck called Captain Quack Sparrow, but Quack Mallard is taking the duck puns to a whole new level.
To be fair, the other two characters are all ready Duck related… Bill Turner and Elizabeth Swan, despite Jack Sparrow already being bird related I do think Quack Mallard fits in quite well.
A Little Bit Quackers.... 