Simple is best – and it doesn’t get much more simple than a dang wooden spoon.  Cursed by a kitchen with cheap (and disintegrating) Ikea wooden spoons, we’re going BIG TIME now, baby.

This weekend’s trip to the Bayou City Art Festival brought us sunshine (and a special bonus mild sunburn for me, of course – hello pasty Irish skin) and a couple of nifty wooden spoons.  That’s right, we went to an arts market specifically to buy SPOONS.

But they aren’t just spoons, they are mini pieces of functional art handcrafted from various (uhmm… GORGEOUS) woods from around the world.  Last year’s spoon haul brought turquoise inlaid goodness, this year we stuck to something a bit more simple.

So what’s the verdict?  Is it insane to shell out $30 – 40 for a beautiful spoon that will last forever?  Or do you dig the Ikea route best?  If you’re digging on it, be sure to learn how to properly clean and disinfect those wooden utensils.

Spoon image thanks to Flickr user Procsilas