Fun storage jars by Alessi from Red Candy

On Sunday my post Spring and new routines touched on some of the changes I'm making right now, and how my Spring cleaning is more of a Spring rearranging.  And there's more evidence of that today with some fun and funky storage from Red Candy.  If you've not come across them do take a look, I mean you just have to love a company who has "Shut up Beige" as their strapline, don't you?  

My shiny new storage jars arrived promptly and I found myself rearranging kitchen cupboards and storage to find the perfect home for them. The glass jars are by Alessi, and the little man that's holding on tight in there is called Gianni. In fact they're all called Gianni, I didn't name him. Honest. 

Here he is, holding on tight, while I take a closer look: 

GIANNI, HE'S QUITE THE ACROBATIC SHOWOFF

Every time I expected to hear a squeal from him... but in fact, it was more likely me that was squealing and chuckling in amusement.

The jars I have are, from left to right, the 90cl, 200cl and 140cl and I've used them to store chia seeds, muesli and raisins. And now think I have the smartest, healthy goods storage around. I opted for white, rather than the bolder blue or yellow colours, and although it also comes in black, I knew I wanted to use these in my cupboard and so I wanted something light and something that I can use for many years to come. If you're wondering what sizes they really are, the largest jar would easily store spaghetti or linguine, if that helps.

And even though I have the white - it's still not beige - and I've the added bonus of smiling every time we lift the lid off the healthy stuff. What better incentive is there?

And no, I didn't realise we had quite so many chia seeds either. I did wonder if they'd stick to him and he'd deposit seeds across my worktop without me noticing. But no, he doesn't, even though he's just about standing on the top of the seeds, I've rolled them around the jar to see what happens, and if static comes into play. But he's passed the test and can stay in my chia seeds. And I'll be adding chia seed porridge to the growing list of new routines, to help bring down my chia seed mountain...

And you may think they're wasted inside a cupboard, but I think if you're going to do storage well then it shouldn't all be for show. I do like a tidy cupboard, I've a number of storage baskets in each cupboard too and everytime MOH puts jars away with the label not facing the front, I shudder just a little bit. 

So here they are in situ. Three Giannis in three storage jars, and three times the amount of smiles. What do you think?

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

Spring and new routines

Spring is a season that brings with it hope, new life, renewed energy and lots of colour and there's no mistaking the Spring cleaning that many people get the urge for at this time of year. It sort of makes sense doesn't it?  There's been elements of Spring cleaning here - and more to come, no doubt - but I'm not the expert cleaner in this household, so I often contain myself with a bit of Spring rearranging. And there's a fair bit of that going on right now. 

Our eat the freezer challenge

We've currently got two fridge-freezers. When I say currently it was supposed to be a temporary thing, as the fridge-freezer I brought from my old house surely wouldn't last very long. For many years it was on our top floor and we used it for the cats' food, as they ate in their room and it saved having their "stinky" food (as MOH rightly called it) in the main fridge. It was also good for for cans of drink and as an overflow fridge space, and we've just got used to having it.

Well, that fridge-freezer is still going strong. We've lived here fifteen years this year! It's now in the conservatory, and well, it's not the look we're after, so we're restarting our eat the freezer challenge to get down to just one, because that's more normal right? 

Already I've rearranged some of the contents between the two as it makes sense to find space for the things we use regularly - such as bread rolls and bagels mainly - in the fridge-freezer in the kitchen. Now we're aiming for as many meals as possible to involve something from the freezer. I'm sure at some point it won't work, or we'll end up with some very odd combinations.

I'm also trying to use less of the fridge space and that's meant sorting through many of the opened bottles that were on the top shelf. It was amazing what I found, but probably best not to go there!

Getting my spray paint out

The lighter evenings are also a good incentive to get crafting again, especially for those crafts, like paint spraying, that need to be done outside. During the winter months I find that hard as I only have the weekends to complete that in, so if I've plans for the weekend that knocks that out too. I've a project in mind for the garden involving a pallet, some spray paint and Sugru, the mouldable glue, and now all I need to do is work out what colour using the new PintyPlus paint chart.

This is only one of the pages of the paint chart, and I'll freely admit I was way more excited than I should have been when I received this. I've loved using the chalk paint spray, but I'm really looking forward to using some of the bolder colours.  Definitely a case of watch this space!

A refreshing and decadent feeling cuppa

Another of my new routines takes place when I remember to leave work on time and arrive home before MOH on bright and warm days. It feels super decadent to get out my posh tea and my new Charles Viancin Tea Magnet and Infuser Set, to give it its proper name. I was sent this to review a while back and it's only now that I'm using it regularly. For me there's something about the brighter Spring days and proper tea and the ritual of brewing loose leaf tea.

The tea goes into the metal drum, and when your tea has brewed enough you use the magnetic camellia stem to remove the drum and place it onto the camellia leaf, to avoid mess. It's dishwasher safe and the accompanying information says they'll never tarnish or lose their colour.

I'm a big fan of silicone in the kitchen and you'll most likely remember the daisy lids, the poppy trivet and the cute vegetable bottle stoppers from the same company. This works equally as well and while I like using it home for my early evening treat, I can see it being equally useful at work and am quite tempted to have one on my desk too.  I think drinking loose leaf tea, whether it's white, black or floral gives me the feeling of being more healthy than I actually am, which brings me onto...

Time to get into shape?

Over the winter months it's much easier to disguise an extra pound or two, but I know that deep down I'd like to tone up a bit. That'll partly come down to eating more healthily, and getting out on the bike again, but I think there probably needs to be more than that and a sustained effort. I'm toying with the idea of daily routine of press-ups and sit-ups and now I've typed it here maybe it'll happen. It probably should, but as you can see I'm still talking myself into it. I know that I'll want to see instant results, but I also know that it's going to take more than a day or two of healthy eating and a fitness routine.  

I've started with the willpower thing during Lent, by giving up cakes from the cafe at work. That may not sound much, but the cakes are huge (and lovely) and very tempting. It's a start, but it won't be enough on its own, so I need to convince myself - and to actually do something about it - while there's time to actually make a difference.  

I know it makes sense, I'm just still getting my head around it. How do you convince yourself a new routine is a good thing, let me know your tips, I think I could do with the extra motivation!

And pottering in the greenhouse

I've not done much pottering yet, but I'm hoping too. I need to get some seeds sown both for the allotment and some flowers for the garden too. We're having a bit of a do in the garden in June and of course I want the garden (and the house) to look its best. No doubt it won't be long before the greenhouse is full of seedlings and I'll be running out of space, but what a problem to have!

What's on your list of Spring jobs?

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

A poppy trivet - with a heart - from Charles Viancin

You'll know I'm a fan of silicone kitchenware. I've already tried - and regularly use - the daisy lids and the cute vegetable bottle stoppers, and today I'm sharing a poppy trivet.

Once again it's from Charles Viancin and I like its bold poppy design. The texture on the leaves and the centre of the flower is great. I think it looks great against my dark quartz worktop. And, who doesn't like a poppy?

It differs from the daisy lids in that it's much more flexible. Infact I'd say it's screw-up-able, look:

It works as a trivet - as you'd expect - for hot pans and dishes just out of the oven.

And it also works well as a pot holder. Remember my Munchkin Pumpkins from Sunday? Well they didn't last long. Until Sunday evening's tea to be precise. And very tasty they were too. They also provided a colourful reminder that this trivet is also useful for grabbing things out of the oven. 

It's harder - but not impossible - to take out a bread or cake tin using it, but trays like this are a breeze to get hold of. And as it's on the worktop, it means I don't have to rummage in the drawer below the oven while the oven timer happily beeps away!

The other thing I like about this trivet is that for a month around Remembrance Day in November, Charles Viancin donates 10% of all sales from the Poppy range to the Royal British Legion. I like that a lot.

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