Adorable 50's/ 60's Blue Floral Glass Serving Bowl

 

Isn't this AMAZING!  Found it thrifting yesterday and really considering keeping it instead of listing it!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!  It is a large serving bowl with periwinkle flowers that would be so cute with a fruit sale served in it.  I have not seen a pattern like this and cannot determine the name of the flower (must ask my mother on that one).  It is in great condition without any chips or scratches on the paint.  I just wonder what kitchen this came out of.  It really reminds me of a wedding gift someone in the 60's received.  Any tips, please let me know! 

Check it out at My Etsy store.

Milk Glass Collections

We have this milk glass collection that came from pieces of my husband's grandmother's estate.  I am not sure what pieces are what- I have not even checked if they are stamped or not.  We have them displayed in our entertainment center cabinets because Martha Stewart says, if you have a collection, put them all together!  (I could not find her quoting this but I am pretty sure it was her!)

Milk glass originates from the 16th century according to Wikipedia.It was widely popular in the 50's and telling the difference between older and old is challenging.  About Home.com gives some good descriptions about ways to potentially tell old from new milk glass, including pattern, mold marks, etc., but it is a challenge even to experts.  Here are pictures of our collection.

 

I found this piece yesterday in our local Habitat ReStore location.  It is in great condition and is for sale in my Etsy store.  I just love the basicness of milk glass.  This piece is a little more transparent than the pieces from Grandma K but still adorable in it's own right.

My Etsy Store- Pyrex

My husband was a Pyrex collector.  We have tons of pink and blue Pyrex.  He bought it at antique stores, garage sales, and thrift stores over many years way before Etsy came to be.  It is so kitschy and retro.  We love it and used it often with big groups since we have over 12 place settings complete of the pink.  It is stored in large cabinets in our garage- some beginning to make it's way to Etsy.

My grandmother gave me a set of the Pyrex mixing bowls many years ago and we use them everyday.  We could never be resell them (even if we wanted to) because they show definite wear.  She gave them to me because she knew I would use them, not just admire them (or sell them!).

Pyrex just screams retro kitchen.  You cannot help but think of the kitchens in the 50's and 60's with the variety of colors and patterns.  My sister told me today that even grocery stores would sell Pyrex dishes as promotions- like a green casserole dish for $.79 with purchase of three Heinz products!

Pyrex just has a piece of my heart.  I love finding it at estate sales (always well over priced!) and at thrift store (random pieces with small resell profit).  Today I found a piece of the wheat casserole dishes and a lid that matched nothing!  I bought them both.

{I found a set of shot glasses (not pyrex) that had wheat on them also.  It made me ask why the wheat pattern was popular.  I did a little searching and found nothing... anyone know?}

So as I am searching here and there for dishes to sell on my Etsy Store The Dish And A Spoon, I will hopefully come across great little pieces of Pyrex to add to my store and my collection (this turquoise wheat Pyrex casserole bowl is for sale currently!).

Playing With Dishes

What toddler does not love playing in the kitchen cabinet!? My kids were always scrounging in the cabinets while I was cooking or working in the kitchen. Dishes make it into the tub and even outside. We bought a few metal pans just so our baby girl can use them in the sand box. Twenty-five cents is a pretty cheap sand toy. And she love to use the wooden spoon to make some noise. It is not just about the cooking, eating, and serving. It is certainly about the memories.

Wedding China- My Every Day Stoneware

I got married in the late 90's. I did not want china because I figured I would never use it. I am just not a "fussy" kind of host. As it turns out, I have only used my formal china  a few times ever! (I will post on that another day.)

I do however use my everyday china everyday!  I got a stoneware pattern by Mikasa that I loved then and still love now. Most pieces are still with us after almost 20 years!

I believe the pattern is discontinued so I cannot replace the pieces that microwaved too much bacon :). I love the dark colors and the blues and greens. 

How do you feel about wedding china? Do you have an everyday pattern?  Is it still en vogue to choose china?  

Beautiful Floral Trentham Pattern Straffordshire England

 I came across these beautiful salad plates in our local Habitat ReStore thrift store this weekend.  There is something so charming about English stoneware.  I love all things about it!  The blue and white floral pattern, the wavy edges, even the small brown marks from the manufacturing process.  There were four of these plates and 6 saucers.  Unfortunately, no cups to be found on the shelves... I will have to go back and look this week!

 

My favorite part about these dishes is the stamp.  Love the heritage in English dishes! They are labeled Trentham J.H. Weatherby and Sons, Hanley, Staffordshire England.

These are for sale on my Etsy shop!  Hope you will go take a look!

Dish-o-Holic

My mother is a dish-o-holic.  My husband is a dish-o-holic.  I had some moments that I was obsessed with different patterns and eras, but then children came along and my focus turned elsewhere. But I benefit greatly from my husbands obsession with Pyrex and my mother's obsession with china.  They both would scour sales, thrift stores, and estate sales in the early 2000's (before the competition was so great) and would get great deals on beautiful dishes.

In my quest of finding alternative income, I thought of doing an Etsy shop based on this love of dishes that are around my house.  I went to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and happened across some great finds.  One is so incredibly cute it probably will not make it to my Etsy store, but that is the purpose.

Dishes bring back so many memories of family- family holidays, dinners, Bigmama's cooking, Grandma's kitchen, marriages, and fun finds.  There is so much character in the patterns, colors, flea bites, and chips.  Dishes are more than just utilitarian.  They are part of your history and part of your legacy.

Join me in exploring these legacies of dishes that I own, my family owns, and dishes I find.