I have a weakness for shiny things. And colorful things. And sleek, cleverly designed things. If a shiny or colorful thing comes in a beautifully designed package, then I have no choice but to get the credit card out. From where we once lived in central London, I didn’t have to go far to find a plethora of design-centric stores inspired by creative geniuses in Britain or Europe, which offered me perfect visual inspiration, if not gratification for any urgent kitchen-related needs. Apart from the smaller stores on Islington High Street, there were Habitat, Heal’s and The Conran Shop, which luckily came across the Atlantic too.

I came across Joseph Joseph’s attractive website recently, set up by a pair of equally fetching UK-based twin brothers, and noted with glee that they will, for a fee, deliver to the US. As the items are priced as invitingly as the contents of Joseph Joseph’s online shop, I have already popped one (guess which) into my virtual shopping basket.

It’s sitting there for now because I don’t need this beautiful thing, I merely covet it. But if one of you has a special occasion coming up , let me know. It could inspire the right amount of pressure my finger needs (which isn’t much) to push that Buy Now button!