Our kitchen was fitted last September, but we still haven't really finished it. Every so often we manage to tick off another job, like the shelves we fitted a couple of months ago, but mostly it remains a somewhat unfinished room. It is slowly coming together, but I really think this is the sort of house that will never feel finished.
When the team over at find-a-present.uk got in touch to see whether I'd like to try out their service, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to treat ourselves to some new kitchen wares. The company is based in the Netherlands and offered me the chance to trial their newly launched UK website.
The site aims to simplify online gift shopping, offering suggestions for different occasions, ages and interests. On first glance, the site seemed to be filled with mostly novelty items, and I felt slightly disappointed. But then I discovered the search bar and a whole world of amazing possibilities opened up to me. The site is easy to use and gives a lot of helpful suggestions when you're stuck for present ideas.
I wanted to get something for Ebony who has been talking a lot about camping lately. We don't have a tent so she's never been camping, but it's something she really wants to do. A quick search on the site brought up a Playmobil camping set which I knew she would love. Complete with tent, picnic table, sleeping mats, camping accessories and people, this toy has been a big hit. The first day she played with it, I managed to get an hour of uninterrupted work done. And the day after, I got a lie because she navigated straight to the toy (instead of my face) when she woke up.
The website works by drawing in gift ideas from other sites, like Amazon. You simply search for something (like 'garden' or 'camping'), and the search results will feature suggestions from a number of sites. When you come to buy the gift, you buy it direct from the seller's sites, but don't pay any extra for using find-a-present.uk as your gift finder.
When I ordered, we didn't have any birthdays coming up that I hadn't already ordered presents for, so I decided to buy some things for the kitchen. I really love the jug I bought, it looks so pretty with flowers in. I've been looking for something like this for a while but hadn't find anything quite right so was really pleased to discover this beauty on the site.
I also bought some new kitchen scales to replace the ones sacrificed by the kitchen fitter (he filled the bowl with wood oil... why? Who knows). I really love how bright they are, and they look great with the yellow pendant lights we have in our kitchen. It's a very white room so the bright colours add a bit of fun to the decor.
And finally, I bought a wooden herb garden for the kitchen window sill. It looks beautiful for about three days, then I somehow manage to kill the herbs again. Though this is no way the planter's fault, I am just terrible with all plants.
