It was my birthday this week, and I was treated to a day out in Leamington Spa, mooching around the lovely independent shops and eating Italian antipasto with a Bellini Classico cocktail (sparking wine and white peach puree, so not too strong for a lunch time!) I’ve been to Leamington Spa shopping before but went up a road I’d not been up before and found Berylune – a sweet little shop selling vintage homewares, satchel bags, cute patterned stationary, washi tape, art and crafting materials – my kind of shop! Emily at Berylune has very kindly put together a bag of goodies for one of my readers. Inside the bag is a roll of washi tape, 2 Chupa Chup Lollies, a badge made from a vintage annual, a pair of rose earrings, a pretty exercise book, 6m of Baker’s Twine, 1m Jumbo Ric Rac, a
giant button, a bendy pencil and a pack of pink stripey straws. All perfect for using this Summer! All you need to do is comment on this post saying why you think supporting independent shops is important and ‘Like’ Berylune over on Facebook here. A winner will be picked on Friday June 15th. UK residents only please.

The stained glass window inspired artwork and recycled card digipak I designed for One Step Lantern‘s new album ’5+2′ arrived back from the printers yesterday. Typographic videos that I created for tracks from it can be viewed on their website too. Listen and buy the album here.

We ordered a burger with chunky chips and a de-constructed Cesar salad with a side of sweet potato chips. Both were really tasty and presented well. I especially liked the super ripe vine tomatoes, anchovies and fresh crispy lettuce leaves – the freshness of vegetables often something I don’t like in some eateries (I complained at Jamie’s Italian recently for more than a little tired and browned lettuce leaves)

Small details like a great music playlist, jelly beans with our bill, and the vintage cabinet full of board games (we played a quick game of Connect 4 while we waited for our food) made it a nice experience. The only down side was the Spark’s lack of a dessert menu – they don’t serve any apart from offering a slice of cake, a cookie or a pastry from the bar. Fine if you’re not a dessert person but we always like to look at the dessert menu at least! We ordered a macciato and an organic jasmine green tea to end our meal. On the whole, we enjoyed the pleasant service and fresh food. We’ll be returning soon for more food and future events.

This video “Bursting with Colour” for Lotty Blue has recently been shot by film maker Steve Cranston of Stafford-based Lilac Films Ltd.

Lotty Blue owner Lisa is delighted to have secured the services of the popular singer and entertainer Miss Lola Lamour who’s 1950s styling lends its self perfectly to the atmosphere of the film. Miss Lamour, who has previously appeared on BBC, ITV and Channel 4, embraces all things vintage and has recently been featured on the front cover of Vintage Life magazine. Lisa says “It was a really enjoyable experience to be filming a 1950s style film for today’s audience, dressing the set and choosing evocative products from the LottyBlue retro range to feature alongside Lola, who brought along her own collection of immaculate and authentic vintage clothes, shoes and accessories.”

“I just love anything vintage. Even from an early age I loved recycling old furniture. I used to sit painting cupboards and wooden chairs to breathe new life into them. Some of my earliest memories are of going to jumble sales and garden fetes with my Nan, Lotty,  who loved to search out pre-owned items that she could lovingly restore for use in her home.”

Lotty Blue is named after Lisa’s Nan and she works hard to emulate her Nan’s old-fashioned values and beliefs by offering her customers traditional customer service and by actively promoting British suppliers and products. Keep your eyes on the Lotty Blue blog for news of an upcoming pop-up shop appearing in Stafford soon!

Lisa says “This year we are very happy to be stocking some fantastic products that are produced by British designers such as Lisa Stickley London and John Green Furniture and are always on the look-out for new products that would complement our range. I am very proud of the strong design heritage in the UK and love buying British for my on-line store.”

Lotty Blue owner Lisa has very kindly offered to give away one ‘Gloria’ vintage style apron to one of my blog readers. The beautiful 1950s inspired cotton apron has a great vintage tea and coffee pots design with one side pocket, a pink bow and rose pink edging. It ties at the back and there are buttons at the neck.

To have a chance of winning this sweet apron, please leave a comment below saying what your favourite sweet treat is that you enjoy most with a cup of tea or coffee and like Lotty Blue on Facebook.

A winner will be randomly selected on May 4th 2012. UK residents only please. All the best!

Their focus is on building young people up through implementing youth projects London wide, in response to consultation with the young people in the areas. These projects are positive and productive, and serve to show young people in a favourable light. They are currently working on 3 major projects a year, an ongoing youth club and in addition offering mentoring and support. Working in partnership with many organisations including Safer Neighbourhood Teams, Churches, Youth Groups, and Businesses, they are always looking to form more partnerships with other organisations in the community to strengthen the work being done.

To find out more visit www.thehebefoundation.org.uk

Copyright (c) 2012 Rebecca Emery ‘Design by One Sugar Please’. All Rights Reserved.

Being allergic to nuts, I’m always fed up by the lack of nut-free granola in the shops so decided to make my own. I didn’t think it would be that difficult and it wasn’t! I bought some lovely big Scottish porridge oats, mixed them together in a bowl with some honey and cinnamon (all to taste but make sure you add enough honey to stick the oats together a bit) then dropped them onto a baking tray to bake for 15 mins at 180 degrees (356F). The rhubarb compote again was really straight forward to make – I washed and chopped the rhubarb, put in a pan with a little water and sugar, then left it bubble away until the rhubarb had broken down. Both of these I made last night to have for breakfast with yogurt this morning so they had cooled down perfectly. The granola should keep in an airtight container for ages and the compote in the fridge for 3 days, but mine won’t even last that long! Enjoy making and eating this!