Up close and personal - in the kitchen

Well, it's certainly an interesting exercise, the results are never the same as I imagine, but I was a bit disappointed with this set. Although, maybe I should have predicted that as I really don't like my kitchen (it's north facing and dark) and it didn't inspire me. I didn't want to focus too much on branding but it's very tempting, especially with this jar of Marmite!





















Fridge magnets (looking towards the patio/garden at the front) bought in Kuwait. All my magnets broke after falling on the tiled floor so I bought these fabric things instead.





















On the fridge, postcard from Ireland and this years calendar which probably won't last long, it's so uninspiring. That metal thing is actually a set of magnets which are so strong it's hard to pull them apart - and they don't break when they fall!





















Bendy magnet and stamps.


















A macadamia nut outer shell that came with a tin or jar of macadamias in Kuwait. It's incredibly hard! I love macadamias but none are as nice as the ones they sell in Kuwait in the roasteries.
















A Lipton teabag tin, bought - guess where? I would have thrown it out by now if I was still there, but now it's a souvenir!




















I have a 'junk drawer' where all sorts of things end up - batteries, plasters, plugs, pencils, bottle openers, packets of peas etc. If I ever need my Billy-Bob teeth in an emergency, I'll know exactly where to find them!




















Chocolate marble cake is one of my regular recipes so there is always some dark chocolate in the fridge just for that. I liked the packaging on this one. Migros also sell one with 100% cocoa, but I haven't tried it. I imagine it's quite bitter.















Bought, yes, in Kuwait again. It's amazing how many American products they had there. Geneva's supermarkets are so basic and uninspiring that I regularly stock up on things when I'm in London. No such thing as mixed spice here so I've been hanging on to these for dear life! I also make a banana cake quite often and this is an essential ingredient. I daren't look at the use by date on these!

The other things I stock up on in London are vanilla essence, smoked paprika and sage. Here they only have sage that comes in huge, hard, dried chunks that the family used to pick out and finally refused to eat. Sage is my favourite herb, but even I found it inedible and bitter. They have vanilla here but in powder, 'flavour' (which is not real vanilla) or syrup, no essence. Smoked paprika might catch on here in maybe 20 years - they don't even have self raising flour yet!




















A plastic bag! It's a 'bag for life' bought in Waitrose supermarket, King's Road, London. I just love the illustrations - it's great to see art on everyday things.

Can you guess what this is, below?




















Sliced Leerdammer cheese!
















And finally, a Garfield strip on the fridge. No inspiring dieting nonsense for me!