Kitchen Lust: Smooth and shiny.

Read into it what you will, but I love pepper mills. There's something so timeless about the turned-post shape. It's like the original (according to Wikipedia, Europeans were using them as far back as the 14th century) was made from a discarded table leg lying around someone's workshop and the shape has stuck ever since.

I have a gorgeous pepper mill, a hand-me-down (or pre-heirloom, if you prefer) given to me by my grandparents. It's walnut with brass hardware, and it can grind pepper however you please, from fine to barely cracked and everything in between. It's big enough to feel substantial in your hands, but not so big that it looks ridiculous sitting on the counter.

Why, then, you might ask, have I had my eye on this blue number from Peugeot? Well, partly because it's shiny (I have a love for lacquer), and partly because it's a happy, colorful version of the classic I already own. Think how nice they'd look standing next to one another! And think how well a pepper mill collection would complement my burgeoning mortar and pestle collection! Grinding implements from around the world...I like the sound of it!