if over a decade of piddlin’ has taught us anything, it’s a lasting appreciation for finds with character. there’s a time + place for simple white paper plates, but why not throw in a few blue willow melamine paper plates in the mix just for fun? why use boring stainless flatware when we can use patterned sterling silver everyday? + can’t we all agree that mini mason jars are always better than plastic tumblers?
for many years now, our family has enjoyed using a short stack of small blue + white vintage bread dishes. i found our first set of spode blue italian cereal bowls at homegoods of all places along with a pair of mugs with coasters (all dishwasher safe–what luck!). years later, we added to the collection after finding an older set at a local antiques store.
little did i know then, that putting them in arms reach would make them the go-to dish of choice for our whole family. these small bread dishes come in handy anytime we need to catch a crumb, but what really is a wonder is our kids’ everyday interest in using “the blue plates”.
thinking back to the girls’ first “fancy” plates i realize what i taught them from our earliest days together. they were two sweet dishes found at anthropologie designed x lou rota. i remember wanting to find something more their size that we could use for our sunday suppers–a tradition we started as soon as they were sitting upright in a highchair + beginning to eat solid foods. we knew from the start that we wanted them to know they had a spot at our table + that it was important for us to sit together to share a meal. we used these not just for a special sunday dinner but also for snack time! i most wanted to show them not to be afraid of using the china + celebrating everyday with something fun–an idea we have lived by since.
so there you have it! use the fun, fancy + fine things + watch how it elevates your everyday.
if you’re still reading, here’s a funny extra: the first giraffe plate we bought for our younger daughter actually did get broken. these things, they do happen but luckily we were able to find it’s replacement + rightly or wrongly she has never let us forget it–but honestly, what a beautiful lesson for her + us all to learn together organically. when dishes break sometimes we can fix them + sometimes we can’t, sometimes we just might be able to find a replacement. in life, things sometimes get messed up + we can’t always control what happens next BUT, we can still be happy with the fun we had + memories made! life is for living so let’s all try to do more of that on purpose!
