I WANT WEDNESDAY - A Tease's Tea Set by Tina Tsang

Blaue Blume Petit Four Stand - £130.72

OK, I realise these delightfully cheeky pieces do not come cheap, but have you ever seen such lovely tea party ephemera?

Blaue Blume Teacup - £40.34

Blaue Blume Milk Jug - £40.34

If I was rich, and to have any birthday party I would like, I would choose a tea party using only this crockery, with sweets, cakes and pastries from Ladurée, a selection of teas from Metrodeco (thankyou Alex D!) and gorgeous burlesque beauties to entertain my guests.

Blaue Blume Teapot - £67.83

Blaue Blume Sugar Bath - £40.34

You know what makes these lovely wares even lovelier? The shoes come in three different colours! Red, black or GOLD. The petit four stand going at the top of my birthday list!

Blaue Blume Ice Cream Bowl - £45.96

This beautiful ice cream bowl is my second favourite piece. Your ice cream sits in the upturned ladies' skirt, and you remove her shapely legs which are your spoon.

Sigh. Pure porcelain perfection....

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Pin Up Girl Goodies from Crumpet & Skirt

Veronica Tea Towel - £6.49

I'm a big big fan of vintage and in particular pin up girls, so it's no surprise that I love the lady laden goodies available from Crumpet & Skirt. I also love alliteration. Yes.

Anyway, I think all you fellow vintage fans and anyone who likes pretty girls should head over to Crumpet & Skirt and purchase some of their delightful wears. I particularly love the tea towel above, and also the mugs shown below. Plain white and unassuming until you finish your coffee and spy the bathing beauty languishing in the bottom of the vestle, it makes your morning brew even more special, a feat I didn't think possible.

Peek-a-boo Mugs - £8.00 each or £29.99 for the set of four

Here are a couple of things which aren't kitchen related, but are just as fabulous...

Lana Cushion - £37.00

Ava Cushion - £37.00

Pin Up Girl Wrapping Paper - £8.00 per set of four sheets of one colour or £16.00 for a set of two sheets of each colour

I don't think I'll be posting again before Christmas I have a large amount of baking, wrapping and painting to do so...

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day! x o x o x

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Etsy Plate Round Up

Rose Tattoo Flash Altered Vintage Plate from BeatUpCreations - £25.66

It's plain and simple, I love unusual crockery. Used on your dining table or on your wall it is sure to catch your attention and start up conversation, but that's what I love - taking something ordinary and giving it a little tweak and some TLC to make it into something marvellous.

Here's a round up of some gorgeous plates on Etsy which would make a delightful pressie for a food fan with a sense of style and humour...

Patti Smith Altered Antique Plate from BeatUpCreations - £25.66

Eat Your Heart Out Dinner Plate by foldedpigs - £11.84

Skull and Crossutensils Dinner Plate by foldedpigs - £11.84

R is for Ravioli Plate by justnoey - £22.50

Bat Hug Amongst The Roses Vintage Plate by thestorybookrabbit - £18.42

Hopefully I'll be having a go at making my own dinner set soon thanks to my lovely ceramicist friend Jon Williams - check out his amazing work at http://www.createtodestroy.com. If you look closely you may find the figurine of me...!

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Joseph Joseph Kitchenware

Black Cut & Carve Chopping Board - £11.99

I think I'm mentioned it on the blog before but... I flipping love Nigella Lawson. Love love love. Other than my Mum and Gran she is why I started cooking. How To Eat was one of the first books I ever bought with my Christmas book tokens along with Cooking With Friends, so it's no surprise that I covet most of what she has in her kitchen.

I spotted the above chopping board on her current series 'Kitchen' (BBC2, Thursdays, 8pm) and think it is pure genius. The board is double sided, one with little spikes to hold meat etc. in place while carving (shown above) and the other flat for normal chopping, but the wonderful part is that it is at a slight angle due to its having a lipped edge. Therefore, next time you are chopping juicy fruit or super moist meat the liquid that escapes from them will not drip onto your work surface but be captured for easy disposal later from the corner, which, by the way, was engineered for this very purpose so won't drip everywhere like a rubbish teapot!

It comes in a range of colours, I believe House Of Fraser have an exclusive purple edition, but I would go for the black as above. Classic and goes with everything else in my kitchen, including my beloved checkered floor.

Pink Folding Colander - £11.99

This little beauty looks pretty fab too, a colander that folds completely flat so it takes up less room! I have a giant colander which takes up the space of pretty much two piles of plates on my shelf (I cook way too much pasta, every single time) so this would be great as then I could buy more stuff to go in that space. Yay stuff!

2 in 1 Measuring Jug - £6.99

Want something that will accurately measure tiny volumes AND larger quantities? This jug does just that, one side will measure as little as a teaspoon (5ml) and then you can just invert it for bigger jobs! Multitasking rocks!

Adjustable Rolling Pin - £12.98

Never have uneven pastry again - just switch the plastic rings at the end of this rolling pin to the desired thickness and you will roll perfect every time!

Citrus Reamer with Pip Catcher - £7.50

Stray pips will no longer be an issue with this lovely citrus squeezer - the integrated seive like device under the reimer will catch all those pesky pips and leave you surprise crunch free!

Rocking Garlic Crusher - £13.99

Do check out www.josephjoseph.com and www.designtoplease.co.uk for more intelligent cooking helpers from Joseph Joseph!

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Moomin Kitchenware

Running Moomin Plywood Tray - £25.95

I love the Moomins. I love them, but am also a little afraid of them. The stories are a bit spooky, perhaps because they are set in cold Nordic lands, and often quite philosophical with the Moomin family pondering over life and it's wonders.

Various Tea Towels - £6.80 each

I first became aware of the Moomins from the felt animations - click here for a particularly creepy episode called The Lady Of The Cold. After that there were the animated cartoons of the 80's which were a lot less unnerving, but still quite odd. It is the original comics and story books that I love the most though - I think the term hauntingly beautiful best sums them up.

Moomin Adventure Pitcher Jug - £31.00

The first story book I read was called 'Moominland in Midwinter'. In it the main character Moomintroll, wakes from hibernation, can't get back to sleep and becomes the first Moomin to see Winter. He can't wake the rest of his family and so goes off into Moominvalley alone, along his way learning the secrets of Winter and the other creatures that inhabit the island and his home Moominhouse.

I think the scariest character to me would be the Groke. She is a dark, mound shaped creature with glowing eyes, and everything she touches freezes and dies - the novelist Alison Laurie described the Groke as being a walking manifestation of Nordic gloominess. Perfect kids reading huh?

65th Anniversary 'Night Sailing' Mug - £29.95

A close second though are the Hattifatteners - tall, thin, silent little beasties with waving 'fingers' on their sides. They grow from seeds and when there is a lightning storm glow and could electricute you! Here is a little exert from Wikipedia explaining them a little more -

"In the story The Secret of the Hattifatteners that appears in Tales from Moominvalley Moominpappa tries to understand the mysterious Hattifatteners. Unusually for what is ostensibly a children's book the story deals with what appears to be Moominpappa's mid-life crisis. His quest to seek out and understand the mysterious Hattifatteners is his search for a deeper meaning in life. Moominpappa follows three Hattifatteners to their desolate island and during this trip he slowly comes to resemble them in spirit. Arriving on the island he is eventually saluted by all of them as they bow before him, and he bows back. Witnessing their obsession with the lightning storms he concludes that their secret is that they cannot experience emotions unless confronted by lightning, which is why they desire it so much. Further, he speculates that by gathering together, they can attract lightning."

The Hattifatteners Mug - £16.95

My lovely best friend went to the Moomin Land park in Finland a few years ago and brought me back some cookie cutters of Moomintroll and Little My - I have recently seen a gingerbread house kit for the Moominhouse but cannot seem to locate one to buy - if anyone can find it please let me know where!

Moomins Cook Book - £7.79

The cook book above is lovely too, with lots of traditional Finnish dishes and pretty illustrations. Beware though, the recipes contain lots of cream and cheese and breadcrumbs, nearly as much in a book by the Barefoot Contessa! Yowza!

Would anyone like to join me for a Moomin party?

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Aprons by Boojiboo

Gorgeous aprons in every pattern imaginable by Boojiboo! This lovely little Etsy shop has been one of my favourites for a good while now and I have bought a few of their items, my favourite being a vintage monster movie 'Bella' style apron - unfortunately no longer available.

There are four styles of full apron - Bella, Maggie, Chloe and Classic as well as three styles of half apron - Sophia, Madison and Classic, along with the 'Betty' plus size and a range for in kids' sizes.

Pricing ranges from $16.75 (£10.83) for kids' sizes, $23.75-$28.75 (£15.36-£18.59) for full aprons, $18.75-$21.75 (£12.13-£14.07) for half aprons and $38.75 (£25.06) for plus size.

Shipping to the UK is only $7.00 (£4.53) and within the US only $3.00 - they also offer postage discounts for multiple purchases.

So get yourself online and grab some fabulous kitchen couture from Boojiboo - at those prices, why not buy 2? And maybe another one for me? Well it is Christmas... ;)

All images shown are from the Boojiboo store - http://www.etsy.com/shop/Boojiboo

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Baking Goodies from Fred & Friends

To be honest, I do already own a few of the following items, but how could I not? The wonderfully creative minds at Fred & Friends just keep coming up with the most pretty and unusual kitchen gadgets that I just can't seem to resist! Already in my posession are the gorgeous "Teacupcakes" and "M-Cups" and if I have my way I shall own all of the below by the end of the year!

I ordered my Fred items from www.amazon.co.uk, but when I Googled I found several UK sites which they can be purchased from including www.strawberryfool.co.uk , www.totally-funky.co.uk & www.gadgets.co.uk. US readers can find them at www.perpetualkid.com , www.spoonsisters.com & www.popdeluxe.net among others.

TEACUPCAKES - Gorgeous silicone teacups and saucers that you bake your cupcakes right into - the perfect tea party flourish!

NOMSKULLS - Wonderful Halloween fun! Silicon skulls that you bake your cupcakes into and decorated with a frosting brain! A few drips of red jam wouldn't go amiss either!

YUMBOTS - Silicone robots in a range of colours - bake your cupcakes right into them and give them a bright coloured frosting hair do!
M-CUPS - Beautiful white plastic measuring cups that look like Russian stacking dolls od matryoshkas. They give the following measurements 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup, 3/4 cup & 1 cup - perfect for cooking from American recipes!

M-SPOONS - Lovely matryoshka measuring spoons! These gorgeous spoons accurately measure 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 tbsp & 1 tbsp.

I WANT WEDNESDAY - Naughty Crockery by Trixie Delicious

This is a new little feature I'm starting on the blog where every Wednesday I will publish a post showing some sort of kitchen related item that I have been lusting after this week.

To kick off I will be showing you the work of Trixie Delicious, a New Zealand based company providing the world with some delightfully naughty (and occasionally offensive) crockery!

Below is a lovely little selection of her goodies, I first found her on her Etsy page but you can also purchase through BigCartel or her Felt pages.

Although she is based in New Zealand she does ship internationally, and to the UK it is a very reasonable $10.00 (around £6.25) postage.