This Little Piggy and Friends

When we had redone our kitchen countertops, I wrapped up our rooster decorations and carefully put them away.  My husband is a great admirer of roosters as decoration, and for years it was all I could do to keep him from plastering the walls with them.  So we have a collection of roosters posing as cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, wall hangings, towels, rugs, etc. Roosters are such a common theme for the kitchen, it's hard to imagine anyone not having at least one rooster somewhere in their home decor, as evidenced by the popularity of the 'Rooster Parties' in blogland.

Having packed up much of the rooster stuff, it was my intention to bring them back down when the redo was done. I guess I didn't do this fast enough, but what my hubby decided he'd tired of his feathered friends and was going for a different look.  Himself being the favored cook of the house, he'd developed a sudden fascination with Cooks.  You know, the European dudes of the fluffy white hats very often sporting pots of pasta and bottles of wine.  He started by bringing home a couple of mini men, to dispense our salt and pepper with authority.

They're not bad looking, in fact, I guess you could say they're rather debonair.  Too bad my dearheart is a bit too much of a cheapskate. The European cook (is this the name of this theme?) cookie jar he wanted to match the salt & peppers was tempting at 30% off, but he decided to wait to see if it went down lower in price.  A week later he checked and it had just plain 'went', because it was gone.  I've since looked at other supermarkets to see if I could find it, since his birthday is in a few days, no luck at this time.  I'm sure I can find something similar, hopefully soon.

What has miniature cooks got to do with pigs, then?  My daughter surprised me on Mother's Day with this interesting metal pig.  I exclaimed over it, and remarked on the hole in its back, to which she explained that it was a watering can.  Jeesh, that would explain the handle, and oh look, the nose is a spout!

The piggy is adorable, and of a rustic look, so it is at home on my kitchen counter.  I couldn't imagine actually putting water in it, but it sure brings a touch of Old Italy to my little corner of the world, along with my Italian looking miniature cooks.