Easter decadence and a giveaway!

Yes, Easter is almost upon us already. And Easter wouldn't be Easter without hot cross buns, of course. I can't recall an Easter without them.

My earliest memory of them is the very early morning Easter services held at the Anglican Church we grew up in, followed by hot cross buns and coffee at the Reverend's house. I must have been about nine. I never liked hot cross buns then. They grew on me as I got older.

When Baker's Delight approached me to sample of their hot cross buns, I was keen to be a part of it. I'm not a huge hot cross bun fan, but I was sold when I heard there were options available other than the plain ones.

Baker's Delight have three types of hot cross buns on offer this Easter:

traditional, choc chip and mocha.

Any guesses for which was my favourite?

If you guessed mocha, you guessed right, me being the coffee lover that I am. They were pure indulgent, decadence. Full of choc chips with a hint of coffee flavouring. And I could only manage to eat one at a time...which is a good thing.These are definitely my recommendation. Even if you're not a coffee drinker, the flavour is only hinted at and does not overpower the other flavours of the bun.

Mr Samoa's favourite, however, was the plain, old traditional bun. Turbo would not touch any of them, but then what's new there? And Smiley liked the choc chip...based on the overwhelming evidence that when he was presented with the mocha or traditional, they were chucked off his tray.

The choc chip or mocha ones are definitely the right option for people who don't like currants or sultanas (I'm talking to you, Sammy).

In terms of whether these buns are better than the good old supermarket variety, Mr Samoa (a hot cross bun fan) certainly thinks so.

You may also be interested to know on Saturday 9 April ,‘Bundraiser’ Day will see all Bakers Delight bakeries across New Zealand, donate $1 from every six-pack of hot cross buns sold to Starship Children’s Hospital in an effort to raise more than $5,000 for Starship’s Air Ambulance Service.

I am a HUGE fan of Starship and all the help they gave Turbo, see here and here, so
I know I'll be getting along to my local baker's Delight next Saturday.

Now for the giveaway.....

The first 5 (New Zealanders) to comment on this post will receive a Baker's Delight voucher for a pack of hot cross buns to use at your local branch. Get in quick!

Love from Canada

The lovely Dawn of Puzzle Pieces decided a few months ago to send 3 people a gift, just because. And I was one of them. Beautiful aren't they? Especially the personal touches and the handmade cards.

They took 3 months to arrive...hence the little Christmas goodies.

Thank you, Dawn!

It's so lovely to receive something in the mail, especially all the way from Canada.

And especially when so much has been happening here in New Zealand.

Check out her blog. It's awesome!

The winner is...

Been a bit absent from blogland. A lot's been going on.

One car down with a leak, then within days the second car died...for good. 

She had it coming but it's still sad.

So have been trying to sort out a car for Mr Samoa to get to work in next week, his very first week, while the other car is at the mechanics....which only opens on Monday.

Nice for some.

Anyway, I do apologise and hope to be more frequent again soon...both in posting and commenting.

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway and thanks heaps for following my blog!

Drum roll please....

The winner is:

Jules from Mama Wears Jandals



Well done Jules!!
Please leave me your email address and I'll organise to post them to you asap

New Year's Giveaway

Yes, you read right.

My first ever giveaway.

I am soooo excited!

For those of you who have only been following me a short while, I have been in a very 'lean' season financially for the last 5 years while Mr Samoa completed his degree. He starts work in 3 weeks!

3 weeks people!!

And while the income has not quite yet started, it's worth a bit of celebration anyway.

So I want to celebrate YOU ♥

All you who choose to read my little blog. Thank you!

I have loved getting to know you. 

Here they are:

To win these lovely necklaces (or win them for someone else if they're not your style), all you have to do is:

1.Become a follower (if you're not one already) by clicking the "Follow" button on the left hand side bar 

2. Then leave me a comment, and you're in! 

If you mention this giveaway on your blog, you'll get an extra entry. Just leave me another comment to let me know.

Open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Well, what you waiting for?