Some festive tableware from Homesense

I've some more Homesense loveliness today, and I make no apology for that. Since their store opened in Greenwich earlier in the year, I'm a confirmed fan. So when they asked me to put together some of their festive tableware, well, who was I to refuse?

The thing is about tableware is that at Christmas there never seems to be enough, does there?  

With a houseful of guests arriving Christmas Eve I'm as keen as ever to avoid multiple bouts of washing up in between meals, just so there's enough plates. While plates are pretty important, so is spending time with friends and family without donning your marigolds!

And it’s usually supper that we run out of plates for - but not this year!  

For us supper - a meal we probably only ever eat at Christmas - is one of those meals that is made up of food leftover from lunch, think pigs in blankets, cold stuffing and a turkey sandwich. Or from the cheeseboard, with some salad added for balance - sometimes we even eat it too!

But it always ends with a mince pie, or maybe a first slice of Christmas cake, along with a small glass of something sweet - this year after our trip to Porto, it could be port, or maybe the Marsala that’s already open.   

And this year we’ll be using these festive plates for that. I’m hoping that they’ll have their second outing of the day, having first been used for smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels at breakfast. No washing up needed either as they’ll be in the dishwasher with everything we use at lunch. 

They’re stylish aren’t they? As usual and spoilt for choice, I opted for two designs - a snowflake patterned plate hailing from Portugal and a boldly decorated Noel plate, in a 4:2 split.  

The tray, which is just gorgeous, had a ‘Vietnam’ label on and I spent more time than was probably necessary deciding on which size. There’s three and I opted for the middle size, but would have happily taken all of them! 

the coasters were the final addition to my basket, and while they look pretty and sparkly- what I’m really looking forward to is a lack of marks on our glass table. Not that I’m planning on spilling any drinks... 

I’ve snuck the new plates into the cupboard, do you think MOH will spot them?!

What do you think? Do you have festive tableware? I’m not alone am I.,,

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

A Christmas hamper, my way.

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to the Homesense at Merton for a bit of a challenge, which was to put together a hamper of my own. And it's not as easy as you'd think. But before that I haven't been over to Merton for quite a while - I used to go that way most weeks to play netball, so it was great to see how much had changed over that way. And like in Greenwich, a brand new Homesense store is a good addition.

On arrival the team gave me a wicker hamper, which comes complete with a cellophane wrapper, a golden bow and filling to make it look oh so professional. My job was to find items to go inside it, and I wanted to give it a Christmassy theme.

As you'll know Homesense is packed with many, many fabulous items, so what did I choose?

I was pleased to spot these glasses, they're a cross between a champagne glass and cocktail glass and will come in handy this Christmas as we realised, after a quick glass count-up, we realised that we didn't have six of any of our everyday glasses (don't laugh about the everyday glasses - that really is a thing).  We're planning a Christmas cocktail for Christmas eve and so these will be just the thing for that.

The sparkly beaded coasters will also come in handy, and I'm sure we'll be using these throughout the year - at just a fiver, I thought these were a bargain.  I wanted to include some Christmassy items, so the next items were:

• a small panettone, in a gorgeous tin
• some Willie's cacao chocolate, a favourite of mine
• a pack of four Christmas spreaders 
• a Christmas scented candle
• some tea towels to take care of those glasses
• and finally, some LED star lights for some added sparkle.

The star lights are great, and I think they can be used year-round. I'll admit though, even though they're not golden stars, I couldn't help but feel like I was looking for stars on I'm a Celebrity... but thankfully without the critters!

The spreaders look fun and I'm sure will be useful, both on our breakfast table and later for the soft cheeses on the cheeseboard.  I've a feeling that they'll be so useful that I'll want to use them year round too. I know MOH isn't seeing the value of them yet, but give it time and I'm sure he'll be convinced, and in which case I'll need to head back there during the year and find some less Christmassy ones!

The candle is understated but hints at Christmas smells and no doubt will help set a soothing atmosphere when things get a bit fraught, as the preparations in the final weekend get underway. For me that's usually when I realise just how many vegetables need prepping, I forget each time that I cook for more than the two of us, how many more are required. It usually works out fine...

And there's usually panettone too. This year just a mini one and I may well have been swayed by the pretty tin too, I've a feeling it will make its way into my craft room at some point in January.  About January 2nd I predict...

So if you're still looking for Christmas presents and are stuck then maybe putting together your own personalised hamper could be just the thing, what do you think?

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

Admiring the beauty of São Bento station in Porto

Arriving back at São Bento station after a week in Pinhão, neither of us were quite prepared for the grandeur of the station. You might be wondering why as we'd left Porto by train the previous weekend, but as our apartment in Bomfim was closest to the next station along the line, we'd headed there instead. That station was nowhere near as spectacular, but it was less distance for MOH to drag our luggage, see I really am good to him!

São Bento station is central to the old part of the town and was built on the site of a Benedictine Convent which had fallen into a state of disrepair. The first train arrived here in 1896 but the station wasn't inaugurated until 1915.  There are approximately 20,000 tiles in the mural which dates from 1905-1916 and each of the central panels represent work scenes of vineyards, harvesting, the wine shipment down the Douro and work in the watermill.  

And when I was looking at the beauty in front of me, I knew nothing of that. 

Take a look, they really are amazing.

I wonder if in years to come our tube and rail stations will have people like me taking pictures of them, and being in awe of their beauty?  Who knows, stranger things have happened!