I'm loving this newish cafe in Hove Flowertown on Holland Road.

 Also I am, lusting after the lights and chairs for my kitchen .

We sampled a toastie, delicious and boiled eggs yummy that were dyed
pale green to match the china. The milk for the tea is served in mini milk bottles.

London - Style Guide

I am loving this book by Saska Graville

A MUST for anyone visiting London.

Saska, shares the heart and soul of  London

area by area, showing you all the best and

more importantly hidden gems in the city.

Each area ie. Primrose Hill, Islington, etc are

shown individually so there is no chance

of missing a fab vintage shop or a yummy

bakery. I just want to pack my suitcase and

jump on a train....... 

Decoupage - Part Two

 My daughter had a very belated decoupage birthday party at the week end.
I got the boxes, glue and paper from Hobby Craft . I am so impressed
with the girls (aged 12yrs ) boxes.

 I did not get enough glue but a quick google told me that any PVA glue is
fine, and the girls used the decoupage/varnish for a final coat.

 These boxes would make a fab present maybe filled with a sewing kit or wool
and crochet hooks, Christmas is coming !

At last mine is finished and on the wall. Hope you too had a good weekend.

Craft Love

Enjoyed a cuppa and a toastie and this new Cafe Bread and Milk in Trafalgar
Street, Brighton.

 I love the vintage vibe interior, just wish I could take it home.

Discovered a new cheap as chips craft store, Danish company Tiger
North Street, Brighton. The store has an amazing range of craft materials,
wool, beads, sketch books etc, I picked up this pack of A4 paper for £1.00.
It has an Ikea feel and prices to match.

Downloading Dress maker Patterns

Do you ever down load internet dress makers patterns ?
I often use http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/50s-halter-dress-072012
It's a bit fiddly you have to print of all the pages and piece them together
like a jigsaw puzzle. Then you cut out your size and add seam allowance.
The dress shown is made from one of these patterns from Burda.com
(not made by me but one of my very talented students)

Let them eat cake !

 On a recent trip to London we made a detour to visit the
Primrose Bakery, I use the cookery book time and time again
and was very curious to try the "real thing".

 First up Lemon Drizzle cake  £1.50, excellent value for the centre of London
and very very yummy, (large slice too)!

 A bit of a theme here, lemon cup cake £2.25 (I think) I will try this at home.
Lovely balance of sweet cake and sharp lemon.

 Chocolate cup cake £2.25 or £2.50, fab, a rich chocolate hit.

If you are around Covent Garden in need of a cuppa, and cake you cant go
too far wrong here. We really enjoyed our tea and cake.

chalk labels

Popped into Staples today and found these great
chalkboard labels by Martha Stewart. Peel
them off and they stick to most surfaces and
can be use time and time again ! Genius
I had some chalk at home but you can pick
it up at most newsagents for less that £1.

Black Bird Tea Rooms Brighton

Lots of birthdays to shop for in July. I re-fuelled
at this new vintage tea rooms in the heart of the
Lanes, A M A Z I NG possible the best vintage
interior I have seen in ages, DONT miss the toilets, I do
not want to say any more and spoilt the surprise.
O yes.........tea and cakes were fab too.

vintage tea party

Taking inspiration from this fab book "Vintage Tea Party ",
we created our own "tea" to bid farewell to Sarah.
We  dressed in our best vintage, listened to 100 wartime hits !
and tucked into tons of yummy food.
Pinwheel jam sandwich , cucumber and cream cheese hearts,
and of course good old egg and cress.
Sweet treats included scones, cup cakes and chocolate cake.
Enjoyed on vintage china, with many many refills of tea.

Elderflower Festival

Went to the Elderflower Festival, held in the grounds
of Bentley Motor and Wildlife
Museum, at the weekend for the
most amazing and magical festival

Camping and music were in large open fields
but the woods were transformed into a magical

experience. Lamb cooked in the rear of a
beetle, served with hummus and pitta,
Juices, cake and treats, in this great
area, which looked even better as the
woods got dark at night.

 Early morning tea - unbeatable.

Pizza cooked in a portable wood
burning stove.
On arrival at the site
you were greeted with a chilled glass of
elderflower wine, very welcome after a
hot drive. Dotted around the wood were
healing huts offering reflexology and other
treatments.
Sports camp for the children. Live music.
Roll on next year -  A really fab weekend.

decoupage - in progress

Great fun on a rainy day ! (Yes, we have had way too many of them recently.)
Decoupage, translates as sticking layers of paper onto cardboard letters ,

or in my case a fab deers head.Not finish yet, but with the recent weather
forecast, I have no excuse. John Lewis has a good selection of objects to cover
and paper, as does C and H. Fabrics, but I got some of my letters 1.90p for
a large letter and 99p per sheet of tissue paper for the only Art shop
in the Five ways on Ditching Road, Brighton.
The deers head is from re-foundobjects.

Bakin Love

 It's been a DIY and baking time here.
 Made this fab cake from the Waitrose
site, super easy, I had not used a cake
recipe that asked for porridge oats — 50grms,
which you had to whizz in the food processor first,
but the result, was a very
yummy moist cake.

 Also made Lorraine Pascal's flapjacks very easy and very gooey added
 apricots to recipe. Last but not least by any means, made the best ever
 sausage rolls, from The Great British Bake - Off Sports Relief,
 this was food heaven, mouth wateringly good. I used shop puff pastry -
 if its good enough for Jamie its good enough for me,
 and the chutney cooked its self — sorry no photo's,
 but well worth the effort.
 Have a great weekend.

Vintage treats.

Popped into Emmaus last week and was rewarded with this vintage
Bread tin for £5! Bargain. They always have something that takes my eye

but not necessarily something that I need. Also picked up these vintage

children's hankies. I love the message's "play where its safe". A cuppa at the
very reasonably priced cafe rounds of the trip nicely.