“When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.”

As Dale Carnegie rightly said we should make the best use of what we have...

At a local brocante last week an elderly gentleman had set up a modest stall selling some of his home grown produce - leeks ( as always), onions and these incredible lemons. Complete with leaves and stalks ( and very spiky thorns) he told me how he had brought the potted up lemon trees indoors in the autumn and let the fruits develop in his lean to. They were without doubt a taste sensation - putting the scrawny, waxed supermarket lemon to shame. Plump, juicy and with a tropical aroma that filled the room - just as nature intended. I did get a little carried away and bought 4 kilos of them but just the sight of them in the fruit bowl was enough to send the winter blues packing.

So, what did I do when fate handed me lemons? Why, made lemonade of course!

Gin and tonic anyone?

Is it a trunk or is it a coffee table?

                Well, it's both and it could also be a blanket box of course.

These old trunks are capacious enough to store magazines, books and toys and look very stylish as coffee tables. This one is extra large in size and character with it's sepia coloured outer with chunky leather handles either side. My husband who has lovingly restored it, describes it as 'a real corker' and now it would sit comfortably in any room. See more photos at Chateau Chic Direct