Of Water and Wine and Pretty Tables....

I have never been particularly fussy about drinking water. Our local tap water in Cape Town has always tasted fine to me so when I received Brita's new Fill and Serve Carafe to test out, I was a bit skeptical.

 My 14 year old son, Jack, is a water addict. He has never liked cooldrinks or fruit juices, so water is his drink of choice. (Wine is my drink of choice - just saying.) So I handed over the new carafe to Jack to put into action. He dutifully followed the instructions and left the water to filter for a short while. He then handed me 2 glasses of water for a taste test. First of all, I surprised myself by being able to taste the difference, and secondly, I correctly identified the filtered water because, despite my initial skepticism, it actually tasted cleaner!

Aside from producing clean and lovely tasting water, I also have to commend Brita on their design. It complements both contemporary and classic styles. It definitely does not look out of place on my table with my vintage French linen tablelinen, Wonkiware dinner plates, bone handled cutlery and French cafe glasses, but would look equally at home in a more modern setting.

The Brita Fill and Serve carafe was the Recipient of the 2015 Reddot Award in the “Product Design” category in recognition of delivering an elegant approach to filtering and serving water. Well deserved, I think! The carafe is fashioned from exceptionally transparent, high gloss, state-of-the-art ‘Tritan’ plastic and features soft touch design elements. It’s hygienic, can fit in your fridge door, is lightweight, shock resistant, easy to handle and lasts a lifetime. So what's not to love!

Most importantly, the carafe’s Micro Disc has a 150 litre capacity and its ActivSelect® technology effectively reduces chlorine and other taste impairing substances while leaving the ‘good’ minerals in. This is an important consideration in light of the current dry conditions which prevail across South Africa. 

Because I know you are going to rush out and buy one, I thought I would show you some pretty table settings where your new Brita Fill and Serve carafe would look very much at home.

Also, I should mention that although the product was a gift from Brita, all opinions expressed are purely my own.

And, since I fared so well on the water taste test, if any wine farmers out there would like me to do do similar such taste tests - I would be more than happy to oblige!

Till next time

Sharon x

The new Brita Fill and Serve Carafe will be available from late October from the following retail outlets: Takealot.com, Yuppiechef.com, Makro and select Pick Pay stores nationwide.

SEGRETO VIGNETTES

Well today was a bit of a grey, rainy day and my car had to go in for repairs so I was stuck at home all day which might have been a bad thing. But then the doorbell rang - a delivery for me. My friend, Leslie Sinclair ,was kind enough to send me a copy of her new book, SEGRETO vignettes, What perfect timing!  I could spend the entire day, uninterrupted, pouring over one beautiful image after another. 

If you aren't familiar with Leslie's work, she ownes a company called Segreto Finishes which produces the most incredible decorative paint and plaster effects. The kind which can turn a newly built home into a French Chateau. I would so love her to cross the Atlantic and work some magic on my home. 

But aside from the beautiful photo's illustrating every page, the book is choc full of really useful information. If you are in the process of building or renovating, I would say this is a must have for both information and inspiration!

Or even if you just love looking at beautiful interiors, I guarantee you will revisit this book time and time again!

You can order your copy right away. Just click on the picture below.

Till next time

Sharon x

Tumblr(ing) in Bed

School holidays have begun which always means a very welcome change to my morning routine. None of that bleary-eyed stumbling out of bed, waking sleepy children and getting lunchboxes together with half-closed eyes, desperately trying to remember which child likes what on his sandwich and who doesn't eat bananas. 

The holidays mean waking at a more leisurely pace, getting a most welcome cup of coffee in bed from my sweet husband, cuddling with the dogs and browsing through Tumblr on my iPad. As much as I enjoy reading blogs and checking in on Facebook, my go-to place first thing in the morning is Tumblr. I like the fact that it is purely visual, I don't have to read or concentrate too hard, I just look at one beautiful picture after another.  The images can be anything from dogs to decor, flowers to fashion, art to animals or babies to baguettes It is like therapy for me, guaranteed to put me in a good mood.

Here is a sample of this morning's inspiration.....

 

So if you don't already... I can really recommend Tumblr(ing) in bed as a good way to start your day.

Till next time

Sharon x

My favourite Tumblr sites:

Birdcage Walk

Crush Cul de Sac

Simply Pix

Brown Dress with White Dots

Little Book of Secrets

Mix don't match!

One of my pet hates in home decor is matching furniture suites. They make a room look so bland, boring and unimaginative and should simply not be tolerated!

Probably the worst in my book are those matching bedroom suites (think Joshua Doore) where the bedside tables, match the dressing table as well as the chest of drawers and possibly the headboard. That is the biggest no-no for me. That's non-non in French, nein-nein in German and nyet-nyet in Russian, just in case there is any misunderstanding. Please people, don't go there!

 I can live with matching bedside tables at a push, although contrasting ones look so much more interesting, but that is as far as it should go. If you have matching bedside tables, then consider treating them differently to add some interest as in the photo below.

 If you are unfortunate enough to have inherited a matching bedroom suite, or bought one in a moment of extreme bad taste, you need to relocate part of this matching set to another room. Move the dressing table to your guest room and the chest of drawers to your living room. Go and do it right now...I'll wait!

There you see .... so much better.... now we can all breath easier!

Just in case you still aren't quite sure, here are some pretty mismatched bedrooms to inspire you.....

 

 

Have a lovely weekend

Till next time 

Sharon x

Images : 1 A Life of Beauty and Grace, 2. Joshua Doore 3. Elle Decor, 4. Decorpad 5. House Beautiful 6. Kevin Harris Architect 7. Vincent Wolf Blog, 8 & 9 Pinterest 10. French Provicial Furniture