A new - and modern - coffee set

We're back from a weekend in Norfolk and I've a few Norfolk posts to share with you this week. I make no apology for that, as it's a beautiful place and one of those places that I find it easy to chill out and recharge in. As usual when leaving mum and dads, I left with more than I arrived with and full of cake, which of course is never a problem.  As well as our purchases - it's rare that I'll visit Norfolk and not buy some fish at the Fish Shed in Brancaster Staithe and so take up space in mum's fridge too - there were some aquilegias, lupins and foxgloves from dad's garden, a giant lettuce he'd grown and something more unusual, a coffee set.

But not just any coffee set.

This one, a Midwestern set called Plant Life, was a wedding present to my parents from my granddad, which they've hardly used (their words) since their wedding in 1958 and as I've recently developed a taste for coffee (thanks to Nespresso) when it was offered, I was thrilled to bring it home.

I have memories of the best dinner service coming out for special occasions as I grew up, and wanting  to be extra careful with it and not drop or damage it. I've a skill for being a tad clumsy you see, but I think I managed not to break any of this and I'm hoping that record continues. 

It's been a while though since I looked at the design more closely. I'm not sure back then that I ever really looked at it in the same way I do now. But now that I do, it makes me smile. Its images and drawings are still modern and contemporary, or at least not dated, if you prefer to think of it that way. 

And I've just the place for it too.  

It's now proudly sitting in my dresser, where I think it looks great. It goes nicely alongside my Le Creuset Classic orange casserole and the Norfolk-crafted earthenware noodle bowls and I love it against the duck egg blue and the wood. 

Bringing it home was the prompt I needed to spring clean the dresser's display cupboards and rejig what went where. Now it looks prettier but is still - probably more - functional, which is just as well as I've promised to put this to good use. 

Now, who's for coffee?

Looking forward to some al-fresco dining

I'd hoped that this would be the weekend we'd uncover our garden table and chairs from their winter plastic cover and be able to dine outdoors, for lunch at least. The weather forecast looked great and it looked entirely possible, for a while. 

But it was not to be, not this weekend anyway. Sunday didn't quite deliver the weather they'd forecast; we did do some gardening but plans to eat al-fresco were, well quite quickly moved inside. It still meant I got the opportunity to use these new silicone lids and drinks covers from the newly launched Daisy Collection by Charles Viancin.

I met the UK resellers at the Spring Fair back in February and they were so enthusiastic about this product and spoke with such passion that it was refreshing to see. I'd seen part of the range before but hadn't realised their full potential.

Let me tell you more about my daisies.

The Daisy Collection features silicone lids, drinks covers, bottle stoppers and magnetic hooks and are made from the best grade of silicone. I learnt at the Spring Fair that you can tell this because when you scrunch it up in your hands, it immediately springs back into shape without any creases. The silicone used by Charles Viancin is known as German food grade silicone, which is BPA free and will not tarnish or lose its colour, at all.

The drinks covers have obvious uses - I'm sure we've all had insects infiltrate our summer drinks, well no more!  They can also be used on small bowls, mugs and even yogurt pots.  

As you can see I've used the larger lid on my salad bowl and I would happily use it instead of cling film either on the table or for storing in the fridge. 

The information with the lids say they can be used instead of cling film in the microwave too and can also replace tin foil when cooking in the oven.  They also look pretty, don't they?

There's a cheery yellow - you knew I'd like that didn't you, as well as the white, pink and blue marguerite daisies.  The smaller yellow daisies in the picture below are a magnetic hook (on the left) and a bottle stopper (on the right). The magnetic hook has a super-powerful magnet attached and it almost snaps into position as it gets close to metal, I'd have confidence of it holding things safely.

I'm sure I haven't put them anywhere close to what they can do, but still I'm impressed with them. For me, an opportunity to use even less cling film than I do now is a good one - and if that means using something as pretty as these then it's even better.

The silicone lid forms an airtight seal to keep food fresh - and it's a great way of keeping crisps fresh, and well crisp - and well, I thought I'd test that seal by picking up the glass using only the centre of the flower.  And because I was confident of the seal it'd made I did this over my new glass table - just don't tell MOH!

With the glass safely lifted and returned to the table, I tried the same manoeuvre with the salad bowl. 

Relieved that my confidence in the seal had paid off - and rather pleased that I managed to test this and take these pictures - I put on my innocent face when a hungry looking MOH walked back into the room to see why lunch was taking so long!  Clearly I wouldn't carry the bowls or glasses for any distance this way, and nor do I recommend you try that, but it was a useful demonstration of the airtight seal these make.

So, I say bring on the nicer weather, as I'm all ready to dine al-fresco and ready to keep the bugs away.

For more information, including stockists and details of the full range available see the Charles Viancin website.

* This is a collaborative post, but all views are my own

Some fantastic tableware choices from Nest.co.uk

When Nest.co.uk got in touch and asked me to preview their kitchen and dining ranges I found myself poring over their site contemplating exactly what I needed to make my new dining table - and chairs when they arrive, absolutely perfect. I've a feeling that the longer it takes for the chairs to arrive, which will hopefully be in the next few weeks, the more expensive it could get.

I have visions of the table completely transforming our lives, which may be a tad on the unrealistic side if I'm honest. But even in our reality I'm hoping that we'll eat at the table more often than in front of the TV, I know the dream hey?

The meal that we most consistently eat at the table, is strangely enough breakfast. And clearly having this carafe for our fruit juice would make breakfast even better.

MUUTO CORKY CARAFE & GLASSES £64
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

Once we've cleared the table from breakfast I think this plate would look great on the table.  I'm intrigued to know just how jelly-like it is. The Nest website says the plate has been created by "experimenting with the texturisation of surface materials, resulting in the core material being enhanced to influence the jelly-like appearance."

It's a beautiful colour too isn't it? - and it'd pick up the blue in the wallpaper behind our table.

KARTELL JELLY TABLE CENTRE PLATE £72
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

And for the times where we do eat dinner on the sofa in front of the TV - because in all reality we will sometimes - these trays will save MOH wearing his dinner, which happens all too often and should actually be the prompt we need to eat at the table more often.  

NORMANN COPENHAGEN NABO TRAYS £59
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

The final piece I want to share with you is this cleverly designed tableware set.  It looks like a vase, but each of the tableware pieces stack together to form the vase - and while that's clever, look at how detailed and decorative the individual pieces are. I'm not sure I'd leave it stacked that often.

IBRIDE YUAN COLLECTION TABLEWARE £139
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

The vase when stacked is 30cm high - the height of a ruler (what a go to visual measurement that is!) and comprises 4 or 8 plates, a salad bowl, another slightly smaller bowl and a dish and is topped with a small pot with a lid. It's so very clever, and beautiful too.  And just goes to show not all tableware has to be stored in our cupboards.

Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

What's on your table?

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own.