By Jacinta Moore at Bawk Bawk Bawk.
Rosemary olive oil cake
We're always up for sampling unusual flavour pairings. How else are we supposed to find new favourites? This recipe for rosemary and chocolate olive oil cake from The Flour Sack definitely falls into the 'experimental' category, and we can't wait to try it out.
Baker Brooke says that this is the perfect snack cake. We always like to have a home-made cake tucked away in a tin ready for any unexpectected visitors or a nibble with a cup of tea in the afternoon, and this recipe has us sorted for this week.
Upcycled chests of drawers round-up
Ever since we blogged about furniture upcycling company Out of the Dark last week, we've been noticing loads of cool and creative ideas for renovating old furniture all over the net. Here's a mini round up of our favourites. First to earn a mention is Chi Chi Studio's hand painted chest of drawers. Her delicate bird and branch motif has transformed a boring piece of furniture into an unexpected work of art, and we love that blogger Kristin hasn't just gone down the safe route with a solid colour.
Second up, we have a question for you. Have you ever considered wallpapering anything other than a wall? No, us neither. Beautiful prints, interesting textures and a wonderfully quirky concept put Bryonie Porter's wallpapered furniture firmly on the list.
Finally, because we love a good tutorial, is interiors blog Twice Lovely. The blog is filled with furniture upcycling ideas, but our favourite is this on-trend chevron print chest of drawers DIY, which uses masking tape for a quick and easy stencilling effect.
You may have noticed that another chest of drawers has sneaked its way into this post. This is another of Ann Marie's ideas, and we've included it as proof that transforming an old dresser can be as straightforward as adding a lick of paint and some beautiful new handles. Sometimes, simple really is best.
Show your photos some love
Are any of our readers budding photographers? We found this fab heart bokeh tutorial which we can't wait try out. For those of you with a confused look on their faces right now, the term bokeh refers to the quality of the areas of a photo which are not in focus.
Rebekah from A Little Bit of Sunshine has a heart bokeh filter to create a background of delicate hearts in her photographs. The best bit of this tutorial is that all you need is some black card and tape, and you can use any shape you want (we're leaning towards stars, if you're interested). Pop over to A Little Bit of Sunshine to find out exactly how to make your own.
Get out and about this summer
Hannah and Rebecca love the UK, 'even when it rains'. They love the UK so much they've set up This Is Your Kingdom to celebrate the best of British.
The idea behind the site is that locals from all over the country share their favourite things to do in their area. Found a charming little coffee shop that's tucked away off the high street? Stumbled upon a beautiful view while out and about in the countryside? Buy all your favourite outfits from an indie boutique that no-one knows about? This is the place to share it!
The website is split into sections for men, women and kids, so there's something for everyone. Pop over to the This Is Your Kingdom website to check out the hidden gems in your area.
Plant a butterfly garden
Not content with producing beautiful stationery and writing a beautiful lifestyle blog, Amanda of Wit & Whistle has come up with a lovely idea to make our gardens more beautiful, too.
Following a bad experience with a vegetable patch (it's reassuring to know that even our favourite bloggers have these kinds of disasters, isn't it?) Amanda decided to take a different tack this year, and is planting her own butterfly garden.
Pop over to the Wit & Whistle blog for advice on caterpillar-friendly plants and how to get started creating a butterfly garden. And keep you fingers crossed for Amanda that she has more luck than she did with her vegetable patch!
Give your house a home sewn touch
Home Sewn Home is making us all nostalgic. Sally Walton has gathered together 20 craft projects that will give our homes a lovely, home-made, vintagey feel.
Tutorials are aimed at beginner to intermediate sewers, but there's also a section of tricks and techniques that make up the basics of sewing. The kind of useful things our our mums tried to teach us as kids before our attention spans were up to it!
Psst ... See those beautiful totes below? They're from Home Sewn Home author Sally Walton's ethical bag company Carry-a-bag, and they're all made from vintage fabrics and printed by hand. Definitely worth a peek!
Wordless Wednesdays ... on the balcony
From I live in Vancouver now.
Vegetable of the month ... cucumber
Maybe it's because we're so used to just bunging them in green salads. Maybe it's because they're simply not that photogenic. Whatever the reason, when we started hunting out cucumber recipes for July's vegetable of the month, we had much more trouble than usual. Thank goodness we persevered, though, because we've turned up some delicious new cucumber recipes for you to get excited about.
Kicking off our round up is this frankly beautiful cucumber salad from Epicurean Mom. Blogger Katie's recipe uses crunchy veggies and a light, zingy dressing, then makes it all a bit special with edible flowers.
Secondly we have tzatziki from Pinch My Salt. We're not sure how to pronounce it and we had to check the spelling twice, but we are very happy eating it. Tangy and creamy, it's the perfect dipping partner for toasted pita bread and mouthwatering spooned over barbecued meat in a Greek-style wrap.
To finish off, we thought we'd share some cucumber drinks with you. For health-conscious readers, check out Cafe Johnsonia's cucumber, melon and kiwi juice recipe. It's blogger Lindsey's favourite drink, and boasts an ingredient list that takes care of all of your five-a-day in one fell swoop. Impressive.
For those of you that are less well behaved, we're also intrigued by Cookie + Kate's cucumber cocktails. Choose between Cucumber Caipiranha and Cucumber Cooler with watermelon (we're aware of the excessive amount of alliteration going on in this last paragraph) for a refreshing end to a summer picnic.
Grab a colour block tote
Okay, confession time. We have a whole pile of 'bag for life' bags tucked at the bottom of our cupboards. We buy them thinking 'what a great idea, I can use this forever'. Next time we go shopping, where's the bag? At home. So we buy a new one. Which isn't planet-friendly at all.
We've decided to take the matter in hand and fashion a new shopping bag that we love so much that there's no way we can forget about it, and this colour block fabric tote from Fellow Fellow (guest posted on Say Yes to Hoboken) will do the trick nicely.
It's not simple, but blogger Claire has provided a really thorough tutorial with so many photos it must be foolproof (right?). The best bit? It's lovely enough to use as a day bag all summer long!
Liven up your summer with activity jars
School summer holidays are almost upon us, and unless you're super-organised, you'll be worrying about how you're going to keep your kids entertained for six whole weeks. Crafty blogger Merrilee from mer mag has come to the rescue with her simple-but-totally-genius activity jar idea.
Gather the family together for a massive brainstorm and scribble down your ideas of all the things you'd like to do. Merrilee has split her ideas into things to craft, things to cook and places to go, which means you can match your activity to what the weather outside is doing. Then, when you find your kids twiddling their thumbs (or writing on the walls, ripping each others' hair out...), crack out your activity jars and pick an idea at random.
If you're stuck for ideas, check out Pinterest for inspiration - the simple things' eat and create boards are a fab place to start!
Hunt out some secondhand and vintage
Shopping vintage and secondhand can be hit-and-miss at the best of times. Add an unknown city into the mix and you'll need a whole lot of stamina and more than a little luck to track down something worthwhile.
We're keeping our fingers crossed that these new secondhand and vintage city guides from Vivays are going to change all that. Like a textbook for the vintage-hunter, these guides cover everything from clothing to furniture to books, all organised by type and area.
The London and Berlin vintage guidebooks are already available, and we're already excited about the Paris and New York versions coming out in 2013.
Revamp your old furniture
Out of the Dark is a furniture restoration company with a difference. An extension of charity Street Dreams, Out of the Dark works with disadvantaged young people to restore unloved pieces of furniture, teaching valuable practical and business skills along the way.
Now, Out of the Dark is taking the time out to help us make our scruffy old furniture look brand new again, too. If, like us, your sanding / painting / cleaning / varnishing / waxing skills leave something to be desired, and you're about in the Marlow area next Thursday 19th July, drop into their furniture restoration workshop for some DIY tips.
Check out their website and online shop to fund out how you can get involved.
Make a custom rose trellis
Today, we've got a proper garden project for you to get stuck into. When blogger Annalea from Hope and Honey moved house, she inherited an unruly rose bush along with it. After struggling to find a trellis that was strong enough, the right size and didn't cost the earth, Annalea went about making her own.
Annalea's rose trellis DIY uses cedar framing and mesh fencing, and lets you build a sturdy structure that fits wherever you want it to. Top marks to her for showing some true Simple Things spirit!
Wordless Wednesdays ... dusk at the beach
From Everyday Musings.
Hang an antique map
They might be less accurate and informative than their modern-day equivalents, but there's a certain romantic charm to old maps.
Etsy seller Ancient Shades specialises in retro and antique map prints from Michigan to Mongolia. Pop over to his shop to browse through piles of old maps in all their wonky, technicolour glory.
Say a simple thank you
Whether its to your mum for looking after the kids for that extra couple of hours, or a friend for making you feel better when everything is going wrong, sometimes everyone needs to say a proper thank you.
We thought this thank you gift idea from You are my Fave was really lovely. Next time you want to show your gratitude, wrap a freshly baked (whether by you or your local baker) loaf of bread in a simple tea towel and tie it with a pretty ribbon. If it's something really big, you could even add a jar of jam.
Roll up a picnic blanket tote
Remember the handy cutlery wraps we blogged about a while ago? Well, we've found something else to add to this summer's picnic kit - an all-in-one picnic blanket tote.
The best picnic blanket tutorial around comes from the girls at Craft Buds. It's our favourite because it has a waterproof underside, so we can lay it out on damp ground without getting our trousers wet, and it rolls up into a self-contained tote, so it's easy to stash for the sprint back to the car when the heavens reopen! Perfect for British summertime, we say.
Get green fingered
Getting into gardening can be a daunting prospect. Etsy seller Sarah Rainwater Design has come up with a fab starter pack for anyone wanting to get a little more green fingered.
Her heirloom seed kit contains six packs of veggie and herb seeds, plus everything you need to grow them on your windowsill. Even better, each of the plant varieties has been chosen because it's mega-easy to grow. We'll be gifting these to all our novice gardener friends, in the hopes that we might be able to convert them!
Master the art of packing
Are you a smart and organised packer or do you put it off until the last minute and end up throwing the entire contents of your wardrobe at your suitcase? If it makes you feel better, we're definitely the latter.
This summer will be different though, because we've discovered Louis Vuitton's Art of Packing. No more pulling clothes out of our baggage in a tangled, crumpled mass. No more sitting on our cases to force the zip closed.
Check out the cute little videos on the Louis Vuitton site for tips on how to organise your clothes and other bits and bobs, and even how to fold things cleverly to maximise space. There are separate versions for men and women, too. Get packing.