Wellington Regional Sugarcraft Competition 2016

Just next to one of the most popular Pokémon Go hunting spots in the Hutt, the Dowse Museum was once again host to the annual Wellington Regional Sugarcraft Competition and Exhibition this weekend. The exhibition is a great source of cakespiration and a celebration of the many hours of hard work that go into cake decorating.

I really enjoyed this year's 1950s rock and roll theme. Think juke boxes, diners, music and lots of dancing. It allowed for bright colours, black and white themes and a kind of design simplicity that really appeals to me.

Here's a selection of my favourite cakes from this year's competition. They weren't necessarily category winners but caught my attention in one way or another.

At the diner

Angry bird
made by an 11 year old
My nephews would love this.

A celebration of Grandparents Day
These figurines are beautifully detailed.

A funky handbag
made by an 11 year old

A celebration of music
I love the effect achieved using just black and white fondant.

Realistic cakes usually freak me out
but this one wasn't so scary.

A celebration of rock and roll
This is my people's choice nomination.

Shouldless days

I recently started listening to the Death, Sex & Money podcast by Anna Sale. The premise for the podcast is that it openly talks about the topics we think about a lot but usually leave unspoken.

One of the many episodes I enjoyed was Ellen Burstyn's lessons on survival. I have to confess to not knowing who Ellen Burstyn is before listening to it but I was taken by one particular piece of advice. Ellen is a fan of shouldless days, when you do what you want to do and not the things you think you should - the epitome of guilt-free.

This got me thinking. I'm very much a should person. I should do this and I should do that and I should get around to doing the things I haven't done yet and so on. I'm also a should have person, whereby I relive the guilt of not doing the things I should have done at the end of each day. Does this sound familiar?

In an ideal world, Sundays would be shouldless days for me. It's not just about being lazy and achieving nothing. Sometimes this describes my Sundays perfectly, but there is usually an element of guilt about the things I should have done. This is definitely something I need to work on.

As for what I'd do on my shouldless days, well, I imagine this would be different every week. It's likely to involve coffee, baking, brunch, music, home, new places, sunshine, a book, a walk, making plans, having no plans, good company, no company ... all of the above, some of it or none at all.

What would a shouldless day look like for you?