6 of the best...Places to Visit in Olney, Buckinghamshire

1. The Nest @ No. 9

Opened by two ex buyers from John Lewis in 2011, The Nest at No, 9 stocks a huge range of gorgeous interior products, cards, wrapping paper, Cavallini and Co Stationary and a host of other beautiful items, including beautiful soft and luxurious blankets so cosy you'll want to take them all home for an afternoon in front of the fire. Every visit offers the excitement of something new and gorgeous to discover and the lovely staff are more than happy to share their favourites and talk passionately about the products.

http://www.thenest-atno9.com/index.html

2. Joules

Just off from them main High Street, this Joules store offers just the right injection of country chic to the  town. A bright yellow shop front complimented by their floral prints and lovely clothes attract a huge range of customers, from yummy mummies to glamorous grannies. Although it is quite a small store, they pack womens, mens, childrens and accessories into the small space and the range is very good. Also very good are the well proportioned changing rooms. No more contorting yourself into small cramped cubicles, here you can twirl your skirt to your hearts content. 

They're just in the middle of sale time at the moment, and I picked up this beautiful boat print top for a snip at £20.00

http://www.joules.com/

3. Dychurch Lifestyle

I hadn't noticed this shop before today, but it sells a fantastic mixture of country style clothing including Cath Kidston Bags, Barbour and Barkers shoes and boots, made just down the road in Earls Barton. I have been looking for a perfect pair of Chelsea boots for a long time, and I found them in this shop! A gorgeous caramel coloured leather with punched decoration and a hand finished sole. Perfect to wear with jeans or dresses, I was so happy when I saw them!

No website, you'll just have to go for a visit!

4. Dandelion & Co.

Decorated in the palest greys, this is a calm, peaceful and relaxing shop with beautiful homewares, a kids section and a great selection of cards. They stock Orla Kiely and True Grace candles, a particular favourite of mine as they have beautiful scents. My favourite is Seashore No. 26, it transports you straight to a sandy beach or a refreshing walk over the cliffs. The fab window displays draw you straight into the shop, where you will find a lovely selection of gifts for any occasion. 

No website, you'll just have to go for a visit!

5. Bex Boutique

Situated in Rose Court, hidden down a little alley, Bex Boutique stocks a range of beautiful and unusual clothes. If you're after something a little more quirky and different this is the place to look. The buyers at Bex source their clothes from Italy and Spain and fill their shop with a range of stunning clothes that are always a little different from the clothes you may see out on the street. In the summer they stock a range of stunning printed maxi-dresses and unusual tops with different design details, and in the winter expect to find some great and slightly wacky knit designs. Definitely an excellent place to visit if you love your fashion with a hint of European flair.

http://www.bexboutique.co.uk/

6. Lily T

Jewelry, Handbags and Shoes, and a whole range of other accessories, what's not to love! The range is fantastic, always showcasing the newest and best styles with a twist. They have a great range of high heels, flip flops, ballet pumps and sandals from brands such as Moda in Pelle, Audley and Ilse Jacobsen. There's also a great selection of Radley, that little scotty dog gets everywhere! Head here for that unusual accessory that you've been hunting for, they also stock great boots in the winter. 

http://www.lily-t.com/

A Weekend of Baking - Cupcakes and Sausage Rolls

Along with the sugar flower for my own birthday cake, I made cupcakes and sausage rolls to take into work for my team. I decided to make 99' cupcakes (cakes that look like 99' ice creams not 99 of them!) and some caramelised red onion sausage rolls. 

The cupcakes have some ground almonds in the cake mix, which give a lovely sweet flavour but also a slightly closer texture which is very nice, you feel like you're getting a bigger mouthful!

To get the best sized cakes I used a soup spoon to make a ball, and that seemed to give the best size with no overspill.

Be careful not to overfill the cases as the filling will spill out and don't have the over temperature too high, or you'll end up with large peaks.

I love a good buttercream (Secret: Only use good quality slightly salted butter, blend in a blender for about a minute and then pipe!) I used a star nozzle to pipe swirls onto the cupcakes to make them look like '99 cupcakes.

I bought mini flakes to go onto the cupcakes but they were still too long, so I ended up cutting them in half with a sharp knife. Tip: to stop the flake crumbling too much, keep them in a fairly warm place then they wont fall apart so much when you cut into them.

The Finished Cupcakes: I was very pleased with the way they turned out. The little flakes stuck in the side were the perfect addition, and the hundreds and thousands gave a cute and childlike feel.

Sausage Rolls: This is a Delia recipe from her christmas book, and it makes the best sausage rolls I (and many others!) have ever tasted. Top Tip again, use the best quality butchers sausage meat for extra yumminess and always use red onion. It will make you cry more but it's worth it!

Dice the onion finely, season the sausagemeat and then mix it all together with your hands, don't be afraid to get messy! I made a quantity and a half of the recipe and it made about 60 bitesize sausage rolls, perfect for feeding a crowd. They are never better than when they are fresh out of the oven, but they will last in an airtight container. However once you taste them, they're not going to be around for long!

A Weekend of Baking - Sugar Flowers

This weekend I started on the preparation for my Birthday cake! I am again making sugar flowers to decorate it, so I thought I'd show you how I make roses, leaves and other flowers.

First of all, gather all of your ingredients together, including your trusty Mich Turner Cake Masterclass Cook Book! If you would like a professional tutorial on ow she makes her sugar roses, have a look at her tutorial on YouTube, this is how I learnt! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fczCtymCSc

Tip: When colouring sugarpaste, use a gel colour. It is more concentrated so you don't need as much as normal food colouring. Apply to the icing using a cocktail stick and build up the colour gradually. I always use a pair of disposable gloves when colouring icing, so it doesn't stain your hands.

I wanted my roses to have a vintage brown tint to their edges, so I wrapped a section of pink in a delicate beige shade. This meant that when they were shaped into the roses, the petals had a graduated pink tinge.

I also decided to purchase some edible gold lustre for my roses, and applied it using a clean soft paint-brush. It gave the roses a gorgeous golden tinge and adds to the vintage feel. 

I always use cutters for some of my icing and flowers, and these plunger rose leaf cutters are perfect for creating 'realistic' looking sugarpaste leaves. When stamped out, I give them a little twist to add curves and movement. 

To make the little pink flowers, I used a small flower cutter, and then poked them out onto the foam using the end of an elastic needle, creating the circular dent in the centre. 

Tip: When making icing decorations, leave them to dry on a foam mat for at least 24 hours, otherwise they will fall apart when you try and put them on your cakes. Once dry, store in an airtight container until you need them.

To make the centres of the flowers, I used sugar pearls secured with royal icing. The pearls are very cute, and finish off the delicate pink flowers perfectly. 

The Cake and Bake Show 2013

Despite the hot and sticky weather of the last week, I have been very excited about my trip to the second annual Cake and Bake Show 2013 in Earls Court London!

I followed the 2012 show on their website, and drooled over the amazing cakes on show, the speakers, the classes and demonstrations and the fantastic sounding Marketplace to sample some of the best baked goods from around the country.

They launched their first 2013 show in Manchester, and I decided that was it, this year I had to go! So I have booked my tickets for Saturday 14th September and am so excited to go, my trusty camera and notebook in hand.

This years speakers announced so far include Rosemary Shrager, Stacie Stewart, Simon Rimmer, Eric Lanlard and Tom Herbert, but I am secretly hoping for Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and Mich Turner, isn't everyone!

Having graduated from a fashion degree, I was also particuarly interested in the Cakes on the Catwalk competition that was shown at the Manchester exhibition. The theme was (you guessed it!) cakes designed around dresses and costumes, and the results were particularly stunning, I'm really looking forward to see what the London competition involves. I might not have a go myself, probably best to leave that sort of thing to the professionals! However I am making my own birthday cake again this year, so keep your eyes peeled for photos of my creation!

I've also started following the Cake and Bake Show on Pinterest to get inspiration for my own baking, and to add to my own recipe folders. Keep reading over the weekend and I'll show you how I have been putting together my own recipe files and baking collections.

Pinterest - A Wonderful Time Hoover!

A few weeks ago I set myself up with a new Pinterest account. I have used this site before in a little writing job that I did, but I didn't really get into it on a personal level. However now I can't get enough of it! I downloaded the app onto my phone, and now I can Pin wherever I want.
So far I have set up 7 boards, but you really could go crazy on this site, there are so many pictures and products and ideas that I love, I just want to have them all! However I have tried to be a little bit selective, and Pin only the things that I really love. It's also great for links to websites that you might not have heard of or thought to look at before, so it's brilliant for research and inspiration, if also a bit of a time hoover!
If you're on Pinterest why not follow me and see what I've been Pinning and share your ideas and things that you love!

http://pinterest.com/averiltreeby/boards/

An English Country Garden

I was having a wonder around the garden this evening in the sunshine, and I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the flowers that are out.

Climbing Clematis - These lovely pale pink flowers have four petals, and are beautifully simple. Although they don't smell, they look beautiful when they all come out in a cloud. 

Pink Peonies: In reality, these are closer to a dark fuschia pink, but the sun has turned them rosy red through the camera. There are many different varieties of peonies, but these flowers are about the size of your outstretched hand, full of close packed frilly petals.

Aquilegia: These plants grown so easily in the garden and come in a myriad of different colours, shapes, styles and sizes, they are such a diverse plant. I love the combination of the dark plum, lilac and creme flowers in the second photo.

Lovely Lilac: These cone shaped groups of blossom smell enchanting on a summers evening, but unfortunately it's not quite warn enough for them to start releasing their fragrance. I love the colour combination of the delicate lilac flowers, the light green of the leaves and the blue of the early evening sky.

Rosemary: Did you know Rosemary had tiny little flowers that look like rare Orchids? No? Neither did I, but they're very cute and teeny-tiny!

MK Handmade and Vintage

Yesterday I went to the Milton Keynes shopping centre and stumbled across the MK Handmade and Vintage fair in Middleton Hall in front of John Lewis. It was a fantastic collection of stalls, designers, artists and collectors selling a huge selection gorgeous products and crafts. Some of my particular favorites were a jewelry designer who made all of her pieces out of buttons sourced from one of the last British button factories, a stall dedicated entirely to vintage metal signs which I had to give in to (see photo below) a whole mis-match of vintage paraphernalia from tea cups to mini gramophones and a stall selling pickles, jellies, jams and preserves (do you know the difference?)

Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay that long, but they do four shows throughout the year. The next fair is on the 7th - 8th of September which is when unfortunately I'm on holiday, but the one after that is the 1st to the 3rd of November, so I will definitely be making a bee-line for it then!

In the meantime, why not have a look at their website https://sites.google.com/site/mkhandmadeandvintage/