Event: The Simple Things Sketching Day

Learn to sketch natural finds - this special day out for readers combines the chance to nose around Yeo Valley’s kitchen garden and learn to draw the natural world with local artist Natasha Clutterbuck

Join celebrated local artist Natasha Clutterbuck for an inspiring day of hands-on art in Yeo Valley’s Organic Garden. Natasha uses natural materials to create her own vibrant drawings of the garden and she will help you explore your own drawing style... no experience necessary!

Berry and vegetable juices, stone dust and soil form Natasha’s colour palette. Natural ochres from Mendip mud and the gorgeous gourds in the garden provide the materials and the subject for drawing with a difference.

Natasha will give you a tour around the garden from an artist’s perspective and show the simple beauty of the humble garden vegetable. So, to look at the world in a new way, learn a new skill and of course enjoy a delicious, locally sourced lunch and an abundance of tea and cake, come and join us for a very special day out at Yeo Valley.

READER EVENT: The Simple Things Sketching Day

Arrive at Yeo Valley in Somerset at 10.30 for a coffee and a mingle, before a demonstration of Natasha’s skills. After a delicious lunch of locally sourced ingredients cooked by Yeo Valley chefs, it’s your turn to get drawing. We’ll provide the inspiration, Natasha’s expertise, and a sketchbook to take back with you. Then there’ll be afternoon tea and cake to fortify you for the journey home. Book now as spaces are limited.

Date: 7 October
Location: Yeo Organic Garden, Somerset
Price: £49 (travel not included)
To book: Contact Jill on 01761 461425 or email events@yeovalley.co.uk

August's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Carefree: August cover reveal

Open one eye. The sun streams through the curtains. And, sigh of contentment, it’s another lazy, hazy day of summer. Pop on a kaftan or a cool Hawaiian shirt and pack the picnic hamper. Seek out water – ocean, river, lake or lido – and let your cares slip away. Sip fresh lemonade or bright juices. Soon it will be time for an afternoon nap or to seek shade, time to learn the lingo or read a poem. Shall we come back every year? Enjoying The Simple Things, it’s what summer is for. 

August's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.

The Stuff of Life: The Linen Works

It’s been a few short months since we first opened the doors of our online shop, The Stuff of Life. Although the paint is barely dry we are fast filling our shelves with some great products. I’m going to be regularly popping over here to the blog to bring you some of my shop picks for the season.

For me, this is the season for eating alfresco whenever the opportunity arises. Doesn’t even the most modest of meals always taste better when eaten outdoors? Picnics and lingering garden dinners are what the warmer longer days call for. When eating outside I still like to 'set the table' and make the simplest of meals an occasion: a simple cloth and napkins is all it takes. Our shop features a generous choice of table linen, including a beautiful range of Italian washed-linen in soft muted colours by The Linen Works. From the pretty Dot Linen and the fresh Arles Stripe to the timeless Linen Hemstitch, the quality of all the designs are second to none. To be quite honest, once you’ve owned a real linen table cloth, you’re never cover your table with anything else.

Click here see the full collection, which also includes bedding and clothing.

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Credits: Top image | Parisian Blue Dot Linen Tablecloth, Piped Linen Cushion, Piped Parisian Blue Dot Linen Cushion | Arles Striped Placemat, Arles Striped Napkin | Arles Striped Hand Towel |Linen Hemstitch Napkin | Linen Artisan Pinny

Find many more beautiful and useful things at The Stuff of Life shop - shop.thesimplethings.com

August's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Guacamole

As well as being the king of dips, guacamole is delicious in pitta pockets, burritos and wraps. Don’t even consider picnicking without it.

Serves 2

1 large ripe avocado (150g)
1 large tomato, deseeded and finely chopped (80g)
1 small red onion, finely chopped (80g)
1 red or green chilli (optional)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1tsp finely chopped parsley (optional)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lime, or to taste

1 Mash the avocado with a fork and mix in the tomato, red onion and chilli, if using.

2 Mix in the coriander and parsley (if using) and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and plenty of lime juice.

One to try: Place a flour tortilla in a dry frying pan, spread over the guacamole with a sprinkling of grated cheese and fold over to form a semi-circle. Fry on both sides for a couple of minutes until golden brown and the cheese has melted. 

Recipe from Thrive On Five by Nina & Jo Littler and Randi Glenn (Quadrille, £16.99)
Photography by Dan Jones

Read more:

Pack the perfect picnic

Recipe for fruity slaw plus picnic picks from The Simple Things shop

Try a Picnic Loaf

Rightmans Place

For our beautiful Summer Days shoot in the New Forest, we stayed at Rightmans Place, a stylish and family-friendly Huntsman’s Lodge. Think luxury self catering meets boutique hotel. Guests have free range of a beautifully restored country home, with over 20 private acres to explore, and wild New Forest ponies at the garden gate.

There’s a walled garden, rope swings and wildflower meadows along with a south-facing sun terrace that calls for an afternoon Pimms.

Big get-togethers are no problem as there’s room for a gathering around the large oak table in the country kitchen, complete with Aga.

On balmy evenings fling open the huge doors and dine alfresco or in the cooler months, cosy up in front of the comforting wood burner and view the deer graze. The dining room is something special – expect fireplace envy. Can’t find the TV? Let the kids reveal it at the click of a button behind a classic oil painting.

Six bedrooms and several bathrooms ensure everyone can bag a their own space. And you can bring the family dog too with their own quarters in the laundry and utility rooms.

Short breaks cost from £2065 (Sleeps 11+cots). Find out more at newforestliving.co.uk or call 01590 427887

See our Summer Days feature in the August issue of The Simple Things - out 29 July 2015 and you can buy direct from our shop - and more of our pics here.

Somersault Festival: Summer sounds and outward bounds

Somersault is a festival with a new vision. A true summer holiday experience packed full of music, adventures and the best of outdoor living. Somersault is back for 2015 after its sell-out debut saw a previously unimagined festival concept come to life.

Created by the team behind the award-winning Wilderness Festival, Somersault promises five days of stripped-back happiness and blissful outdoor life. With seaside escapades, field trips, trekking, mountain biking, horse riding, surfing, craft and culture, wellbeing and yoga and other excursions augmenting the international music programming.

Campfire Feasts from headline restaurant partners sit alongside landscape theatre and outdoor spectacles. A riverside wellbeing area nestles close to a secret forest glade where late night parties hum. Alternative circus and street theatre meet international music stars. Archery, falconry and survival camps beside volleyball tournaments. The scope of what’s on offer is truly vast.

Somersault’s home is a magical, rambling corner of North Devon. A mystical garden punctuated with lakes, 18th century temples, breath-taking viewpoints and the river Bray. Rolling hillsides, majestic trees, endless skies. The perfect place for camping out under the stars, for adventure, exploring, outdoor pursuits, tree-climbing, nature-loving and seaside adventures. Castle Hill is just 19 miles from Croyde – North Devon’s epic sandy surf beach and village steeped in old-world charm.

Relax in nature and revel in the Somersault vibes. Your five-day holiday starts here.

Win! A riverbank break in the New Forest (closed 31 Aug 2015)

This beautiful cottage in the heart of the New Forest makes a great base to mess about on the river.

Beaulieu River View stands on stilts on the bank of the river, tucked away in the ancient woodlands of the New Forest National Park. Once a yachtsman’s cabin, it’s now a stylish self-catering retreat with scenery straight out of The Wind in the Willows.

On the doorstep are miles of open forest and river to explore. You can kayak downriver to the Solent or walk or cycle along the Solent Way to the old ship- building village Buckler’s Hard, watching the landscape change from woodland to tidal river-edge grassland to salt marsh.

Or you can simply linger on the wraparound deck and take in the stunning views of the tidal river, a haven for spotting wildlife such as curlew, treecreepers and deer over an alfresco breakfast.

The sleepy Beaulieu village is full of charming boutique shops and galleries – but when you’re wandering down the high street, remember that the New Forest ponies and donkeys have right of way.

New Forest Living offers beautiful boltholes, from boutique style to rustic splendour, romantic hideaways to large luxurious holiday houses in the most idyllic locations across the New Forest National Park. A friendly team of locals can help tailor a forest escape just for you.

Find out more

• 01590 427887 
• info@newforestliving.co.uk 
• newforestliving.co.uk
  
  About the prize
  l The seven-night self-catering holiday for two people at Beaulieu River View is worth up to £775.
  l The prize includes accommodation only and runs from Friday to Friday, dates subject to availability. The break must be booked before 2 October 2015 and taken between then and 26 February 2016 (excluding Christmas, New Year, school holidays and bank holidays).
  l View full terms and conditions. View Iceberg Press’ full terms and conditions.
  | The competition closes at 23.59 on 31 August 2015.

Enter the competition

Want more?

Download our free My City guides

Escape to an island this summer

Take a twilight walk

This competition is from the August issue of The Simple Things, out 29 July 2015.
Become a subscriber to get your issue of The Simple Things before it reaches the shops!

Recipe: Jostaberry Ripple Ice-cream

Ever wondered exactly what a jostaberry is? It is, in fact, a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant – and the best of both. Jostaberries grow on a large bush with leaves and flowers similar to those of blackcurrant bushes, without the sharp needles of a gooseberry bush. The size of small marbles, with bright-green flesh and reddish-black skins, they have a flavour that swings more towards the blackcurrant. Their star attribute is not only their taste but their outstanding performance in the kitchen. When they are cooked for pies, fools and suchlike, their strong, concentrated flavour really shines. You could, of course, substitute blackcurrants in this recipe.

SERVES 6

For the vanilla ice cream

400ml milk
200ml double cream
1 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks, beaten
100g granulated sugar

For the ripple

400g jostaberries
200g granulated sugar

1 Put the milk and cream in a saucepan. Slit the vanilla pod open lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and put the seeds and pod in the pan. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until it is just too hot to put your finger in; do not allow it to boil.

2 Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. When the milk mixture is hot enough, pour it on to the eggs and sugar, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. This can take up to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours.

3 For the ripple, put the berries and sugar in a pan, cover and cook gently, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar (there’s no need to top and tail the fruit, as the sauce will be strained once cooked). Once the fruit has split its skins and the juices are flowing, remove from the heat. Allow it to cool a little, then blitz in a food processor.

4 Strain through a sieve to remove the skin and pips, leaving the syrup to drip through until you are left with a dry pulp in the sieve. Cover the syrup and chill for a few hours.

5 Give the custard a good whisk to ensure it hasn’t separated, then churn it in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When it is thick and almost frozen, pour the syrup into the machine and allow it to streak the ice cream as much or as little as you wish.

7 Transfer to a plastic container and freeze. Soften slightly before serving.

Recipe from Fern Verrow by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. Photography by Tessa Traeger (Quadrille).

This recipe features in August's issue of The Simple Things - out 29 July 2015. 

More ice cream recipes

Blackcurrant leaf ice lollies

Peppermint chocolate chip ice cream

Easiest strawberry ice cream ever

Roasted strawberry and coconut milk lollies 

Berry coconut ice lollies

Recipe: Flip-flop-pop fish and campers' coleslaw

'This is a super-simple way to cook fish when you’re camping. It is also a very child-friendly recipe. In fact, it was my five-year-old who suggested the Rice Krispies coating. It works brilliantly and provides a satisfying crunch. You could try breadcrumbs, rolled oats or even cornflakes in place of the Rice Krispies. The coleslaw is low-cost, quick and easy and very tasty.'

Ali Ray, author of Pitch Up, Eat Local

Serves 4

4 skinless fish fillets (use white, firm, flaky-fleshed fish such as pouting, whiting or sustainably caught cod or pollock)
Olive oil
4 soft bread buns

For the coating

Plain flour
2 tsp paprika
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
3 large handfuls of Rice Krispies
1 large egg, beaten

For the coleslaw

Half a red cabbage
Half a white cabbage
Half a red onion
3 carrots, peeled
4 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 First, make the coleslaw. Slice the cabbage and onion as thinly as possible. Put in a large bowl. Grate the carrots into the bowl. Add the yoghurt and mustard and mix well.

2 Sprinkle at least 6 tbsp plain flour over a large plate and mix in the paprika, grated lemon zest, salt and pepper.

3 Crush the Rice Krispies in a freezer bag and pour on to a separate plate. Have your beaten egg in a wide bowl next to this.

4 One at a time, flip the fish fillets over in the flour, then flop in the egg, then flip back into the flour. Pop into the Rice Krispies, making sure the fillets are well coated.

5 Heat up a slug of olive oil in a large frying pan. Put the coated fish fillets in the pan, and fry for about 4 minutes on each side. Resist the temptation to push the fish about with a spatula as it might disintegrate. Check the fish is cooked.

6 Put the fish fillets and a heap of coleslaw in a soft bread bun to serve.

Recipe from Pitch Up, Eat Local by Ali Ray (AA Publishing).
See August's issue of The Simple Things for coastal campsites and the perfect pitch - buy, download or subscribe now.

Read more:

• Sunshine Hash recipe
• Picnic Loaf recipe
• Campfire Beef & Beans recipe
• Camping food inspiration on Pinterest

Make: Build an outdoor oven

Who says outdoor cooking is restricted to the barbecue? Take your pizza and bread baking al fresco as well with a DIY clay oven.  

In August's issue of The Simple Things, we're all about eating in the garden. This isn't a particularly tricky or expensive project, but does require a bit of space, a fair amount of planning and a full three days. That said, when the job’s done, it’ll give you summers of baked goodness. 

Download the instructions for making your own outdoor oven.

August's The Simple Things is on sale 29 July. Get your issues early by becoming a subscriber - you'll save money, too.

Read more

• Bread recipes
• More DIY projects
• More from the August issue

Recipe: Olive and rosemary sourdough

Alex Gooch’s Olive and Rosemary Sourdough (From our February issue)

 

500g strong white bread flour
300ml water (room temperature)
200g starter
10g finely chopped lemon zest
11g salt
200g pitted olives
10g rosemary

1 Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl. When they start to come together, turn out onto your table and knead for 5 mins. Form into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl. Cover tightly so that it is airtight. You can use cling film or place the bowl in a bin bag and create a greenhouse effect. Leave the dough to prove in a warm environment for 2.5 hours.

2 Turn your dough out onto a very lightly oiled surface and stretch it out so it is wide and flat. Place your olives and rosemary, ripped up in a rustic fashion, on top of the dough and fold all of the corners in. Gently knead together so that the olives are roughly distributed throughout the dough. Form into a ball, and place back in your bowl and leave well covered for 90 mins.

3 Turn the dough out and divide into two or leave as one to make a larger loaf. Shape them and then roll them in flour so they are lightly covered all over. Lightly flour your proving basket (see Gooch’s glossary, opposite) and place your dough in it seam up. Cover well to prevent a skin forming and leave for 2 hours for its final prove.

4 Preheat oven to 240C/Fan 220C/475F. Turn the dough out of the basket into your cloche (see Gooch’s glossary) or onto your tray. Slash the top well with a sharp knife and then bake for 30 mins for two small loaves or 35 mins for one large. If using a cloche, remove the lid for the last 10 mins in the oven. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for at least 2 hours
before eating.

Originally published in February 2015's issue of The Simple Things - buy a back issue now.

More Gathering recipes in the August issue - out 29 July 2015.

Sounds of our shores: World Listening Day

To celebrate World Listening Day and the theme of water, join in with the Sounds of our Shores project and record sounds of waves at noon tomorrow.

From crashing waves to bustling piers, children’s laughter to chattering seabird colonies, what we hear at the coast connects us to it. The sounds of our shores project (National Trust/British Library/National Trust for Scotland) aims to get as many people as possible recording the sounds of waves along the whole UK coastline at 12 noon on Saturday 18 July. The aim is to build up a sonic snapshot of how waves sound and how this sound is affected by the beach, the topography of the land etc. The coastal sound map aims to reflect the beauty and diversity of the entire UK coast, 775 miles of which are cared for by the National Trust thanks to their Neptune Coastline Campaign.

Getting involved

To take part in the project, which runs for three months until 21 September, you can record a sound from anywhere on the UK’s 10,800 mile coastline from beaches to ports, cliffs to seaside towns. You can also share historic coastal sounds to illustrate how our coastline has changed.

Each sound should be an audio or video clip up to five minutes long and can be uploaded along with a location, images and a description to the map via the audioBoom website or app and there’s lots of great information to help you. You can also share your sounds on social media using #shoresounds.

Tips to get you started

The British Library website has useful tips for making the most of your coastal recordings including how to minimise unwanted wind noise and advice for recording near wildlife. There’s also practical information on using a smartphone, tablet or handheld recorder.

What you record is completely up to you but Catherine Lee, community and volunteering officer on the Lizard in Cornwall and a former sound recordist, has a few suggestions to get you going:

Footsteps in the sand
People ordering and eating ice-creams
Waves crashing against the rocks
Seagulls calling

Sounds of the Shores is featured as part of July's Things to Plan and Do (page 16). Read more - July's issue is available from all good newsagents, supermarkets and our official online store. 

Sold out? Download it from Apple Newsstand or subscribe now.

Meet the bloggers: Lottie from Oyster & Pearl

In the May issue we introduced you to four bloggers on The Simple Things team. In the second of a series of guest posts, Lottie Storey, Digital Editor and author of Oyster & Pearl, shares a blog post describing her first Airbnb experience.

Travelling may be one of life’s greatest pleasures, but feeling like a traveller? Not so much. Standing on an unfamiliar street, squinting at a map, the realisation it might be time to croak out a few words of GCSE-learned language to ask a passerby for help. These are the things that make me cringe a little. I’d much rather appear effortlessly native. Who wouldn’t?

Last month, when in the capital for Blogtacular, the Mollie Makes Handmade Awards, a Team Simple Things planning meeting, and a rather exciting craft workshop (more to come on those!), we chose not to stay in a hotel. Although there are many wonderful hotels in London - more than 700 at the last count - we were staying for a long weekend and it felt like the right time to pop our Airbnb cherry.

Airbnb is an absolutely brilliant idea. Seriously. Over a million properties all across the world are up on the site allowing you to stay in a real home rather than a hotel, wherever you may be visiting. The place we chose was a boho cottage in Bloomsbury owned by Ben (I’m a sucker for alliteration; it was fate). As you can see from these pictures, it’s about as far removed from a sterile hotel as you can get.

My parents are big fans of house swaps, meaning we travelled a lot as kids and stayed in countless real homes. The thought of sleeping in someone else’s bed is not so Goldilocks to me. Just to make us feel extra welcome, Ben was there to hand over the keys, show us round his abode, give directions and recommendations for local cafes and restaurants, and he’d even stocked up the kitchen for us with basics like bread and milk (and a bottle of wine - definitely a basic in my book). After he left, we got a bit giddy exploring this delightfully decorated little cottage.

The ground floor - an open-plan kitchen/diner and living room - was comfy and cosy, books covered most walls and a turntable and stack of vinyl was left out for us to peruse. The sofa and armchair were large and squidgy, various knick knacks adorned the mantelpiece. But the most fascinating thing for me was Ben’s collection of art. Classic oil paintings were hung alongside music memorabilia and pop art prints. I loved his style.

Upstairs, the bedroom felt grand, with its heavy mustard velvet curtains, antique furniture, and doors through to the adjoining dressing room (which also has a pull down bed to allow the cottage to sleep four). A stack of old suitcases were stuffed on top of the chinois wardrobe, a dressmaker’s dummy wore a bowler hat, and a beautifully painted screen made me want to have packed an impractical nightdress and fluffy mules. Elsewhere, two tiny bathrooms were cleverly fitted into otherwise unusable spaces - up in the eaves and under the stairs.

And the neighbourhood? Well, if I were to move to London, all things being equal I’d pick Bloomsbury. The cottage was a few minutes from Kings Cross and Russell Square stations, but an easy walk from Oxford Street, Soho, or Tottenham Court Road. On the night we arrived we headed round the corner to a pub that served amazing tapas, and further down the road was a Waitrose and many other lovely shops and caffs. After the tapas, we went for a stroll to see what we could see, and stumbled on the Foundling Museum. I’ve always wanted to visit this London institution. It tells the story of the parents who left children they weren’t able to take care of, along with a trinket by which they hoped to identify them when they returned. Sadly, we didn’t manage to visit this time but I hope to go back.

By the end of the weekend we were exhausted but didn’t want to leave. The little cottage had begun to feel like home. Without an inflexible checkout time, we were able to pack at our own pace, which removed some of the stress of travelling back to Bristol. But not the sadness. Airbnb is such a reassuringly easy way to travel. I can feel plans brewing already… Here’s to adventures ahead!

You can find details of the boho Bloomsbury cottage here. This property worked out at about £195 per night for two adults. If you are new to Airbnb then you can sign up here and you will get £16 off your first booking.

Read the rest of our Meet the bloggers series.

Looking back: Explore Britain on Film

We love this new way to explore the rich history of the UK, without having to leave the comfort of your own home. Britain on Film is an amazing archive, recently launched by the British Film Institute, which puts thousands of films online for the first time, available to watch for free through the BFI player.

The footage, taken from around the UK – including news reels, documentaries, as well as family films – dates from the 1980s all the way back to the 1890s.

The films bring the stuff of history books alive, whether they show Queen Victoria’s funeral or life on the home front in the World Wars and reveal the changing (and, sometimes, incredibly unchanging) landscape of Britain, from cities to village greens, all searchable on an interactive map.

Some of the most fascinating footage shows some of the country’s rich regional traditions. There’s Lady Godiva in Coventry, Well Dressing in Buxton and Up Helly Aa in the Shetlands in 1927 just for starters (keep a lookout for the ‘sheep’ and ‘walruses’ in the last one).

And, as revealed by the footage of 1920s pet shows at London’s Alexandra Palace and Crystal Palace, we’ve never been able to resist a cute cat or dog.

And, with summer holidays on the horizon, you can see how generations before us flocked to the seaside, whether Eastbourne, Skegness, or Aberystwyth. The coast is also the setting for one of the earliest family films, which dates to 1903 and shows the children of the Passmore family happily playing on the beach – a complete contrast to the stiff family portraits we’re so used to seeing from the era.

Take a look at the BFI Facebook page where there will be a new film posted each day. And, while the project isn’t available outside of the UK, there are still plenty of films to be explored on the BFI’s YouTube channel.

Recipe: Fruity 'slaw

There’s got to be ’slaw at a barbecue – and this one has extra fruit in the form of mango, raisins and sultanas. 

Fruity 'slaw

Serves 8

3⁄4 medium white cabbage, finely sliced
1⁄4 medium red cabbage, finely sliced
4 carrots, grated
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 mangos, sliced
Large handful mixed raisins and sultanas

For the dressing
3 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp mayonnaise
21⁄2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste

1 Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2 Combine the vegetables, mangos and dried fruit in a large bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3 Pour over the dressing and mix well. 

Need some bits and bobs for your next barbecue or picnic? Head over to The Simple Things shop for plenty to buy, including our Here comes the sun collection, for picnic days and for beach days. A few ideas below...

Hand-stamped wooden cutlery, from £3.50

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Whitstable BBQ, from £24.00

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Acrylic tumblers, from £4.95

Moments that matter

Watching locals take in the olive harvest under a clear blue Andalucian sky (Las Alpujarras, southern Spain).

Moments that matter… brought to you by Inntravel, the Slow Holiday people

Meet the bloggers: Louise from Buttercup Days

In the May issue we introduced you to four bloggers on The Simple Things team. In the first of a series of guest posts, Louise Gorrod, Wishlist Editor and author of Buttercup Days, shares a blog post outlining her party planning for daughter Lily's tenth birthday party.

On Tuesday of this week Lily turned 10. A whole decade. To celebrate reaching double-figures I laid on an after-school afternoon tea for her and six close friends. It was relaxed, fun and I hope memorable. Celebrating such moments in life is time well spent in my book.

So I set to work making tiny cheese & cucumber rolls, filling pretty striped paper cups with chipsticks, baking sausage rolls and filling cocktail sized vol au vents. Then there were mini strawberry & cream meringues, individual coconut & cherry loaf cakes, mini chocolate cakes, mini orange & almond cakes and paper cups filled with lemon cupcake popcorn, berries and chocolate discs and to top it all off a 'fox' birthday cake.

It's the decorations and tableware that also make a gathering an occasion and, in this case, turn one of the most special days of the year into one of the prettiest. All the decorations and tableware in this shoot are from My Little Day, a French online boutique that sell all the kit required to host the most beautiful children's birthday parties. From bunting, confetti-filled balloons and tassel garlands to paper plates, cups, straws and napkins in contemporary patterns. I even made party bags using the paper bags and mini paper rosettes  - they were the icing on the cake.

Reader offer: Isle of Wight Campers

Our friends at Isle of Wight campers were so delighted at how many of you entered their competition to win a camper holiday that they are offering readers of The Simple Things £50 off any 3,4 or 7 night booking made for the 2016 season. 

They are also halving the deposit required - so it is just £50 for 3 or 4 nights and £100 7 night hire if booked before the end of January. 

Isle of Wight Campers has six candy-coloured 1970s campers for hire. Sleeping up to four the vans come equipped for self-catering with everything you’ll need to potter round the lanes and head to the beaches before parking up at a campsite for the night.

To book phone 01983 642143 or email info@isleofwightcampers.co.uk and let them know you want to take up The Simple Things special offer.

Get more of a feel for their holidays on their Facebook page. 

For more info and offers sign up to their newsletter here. 

FREE! My City Guides

In each issue of The Simple Things we publish a local’s insider guide to some of the coolest, most interesting and simply favourite cities to visit. As the summer holiday begins, we’re releasing one online each week in association with our friends at Inntravel – The slow holiday people

Sadly, this is our last in the series but, hurrah, it's sunny, summery Palma! Download Dominique Afacan's guide for free here

This guide was first published in May 2014 - issue 23

Did you miss Berlin, Helsinki, Paris, Copenhagen, Florence, Amsterdam or Marrakech?  They’re still available to download.

We hope you enjoyed our series of free city guides - to read them and a whole host of other stuff every month in The Simple Things magazine click to buy the latest issue, or you can subscribe.

MY CITY is supported by INNTRAVEL, the Slow Holiday people, who have spent the last three decades exploring Europe’s most beautiful corners along the lesser-trodden path. When it comes to cities, their self-guided walking tours have been carefully researched using their own expert knowledge and insider tips from locals. These specially created routes take in the best-known sights, but also those hidden gems that others miss. Find out more by visiting http://www.inntravel.co.uk

Looking back: Salt-Water Sandals

Beloved by bloggers across the globe, Salt-Water Sandals are the classic American summer shoe taking social media by storm. 

But what's so special about these old style sandals? And why are they on our July Wishlist?

As well as being extraordinarily comfortable, they do what the name suggests - you can wear them in the sea, making them perfect for The Simple Things style summer adventures. And they come in a rainbow of shades for instant Instagram potential.

American cult classics since the 1940s, Salt-Water Sandals began as a way to cope with leather shortages in World War II, when Walter Hoy used scrap leather left over from making military boots to shoe his children. Word soon spread and fellow St. Louis families began to ask Walter to make sandals for their kids. 

A summer staple in America for 70 years now, a new generation has discovered Hoy shoes' classic designs for themselves and their children. Grown up fans of the durable, comfortable leather shoes with a fashion savvy attitude include Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung, Paloma Faith, Fearne Cotton and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Plus, a few of The Simple Things’ team! 

Have a look at the Instagram hashtag #sunsansaltwatersandals to see them in all their glory this summer.