Homemaking--dinnerware

In my early twenties when I became a bride, I did as most brides were doing at that time and registered for the items that would start my marriage off with the items we needed to start a home. I remember very well when my maternal grandma scolded me for registering for gifts. "That's for rich girls," she said. To this day I appreciate a registry or a wish list when I spend my hard earned money on a gift for anyone.  I want to buy what the recipient will use rather than something that will be stored until the next white elephant gift exchange or trip to Good Will.  I also remember how my grandma thought I was too big for my britches for wanting matching towels.  Her towels never matched. Actually, not much of anything in her home matched, and I remember thinking if you have to buy them anyway, why not buy matching sets?  I still chuckle when I think of my college boyfriend meeting her and declaring later that she was country.  Yes, she was! She grew up in the country and in a different generation.  I loved her dearly, and we got along well, but we definitely had differing opinions on homemaking.  

Anyway, all this to say that when I registered for dinnerware all those years ago, I turned my nose up to the Corelle Ware that had served my mom well for many years.  I thought it looked dated, and honestly, ugly.  I loved a Pfaltzgraff stoneware set and registered for it.  Generous guests made sure I had enough place settings to settle in for a while.  In spite of my grandma's take on registries being for rich girls, I never registered for China as I could not decide on a pattern I liked.  I figured I would collect the China later - yeah right.  Five years later I settled on a pattern but never bought a single dish. My daily dinnerware did not survive my children. 

Fast forward a few years, and I was buying cheap, pretty stoneware from Walmart that chipped immediately and then broke easily, not to mention that it would burn your hand off if you used it in the microwave and tried to remove it without an oven mitt - I am not even kidding about that.  After that fail, I found really pretty and functional dishes at Target, but I am always budget conscious and was buying them a little bit at a time.   Eventually, they were discontinued before I had collected enough for our expanding family.  

So this is how it works around here, I put up with the broken whatever and the not enough whatevers trying to plan and budget and do the right thing until I snap and cave and purchase the replacement.  That just happened with the dishes. After weeks of going to grab a plate or bowl only to realize that every plate and/or every bowl we own was mid-cycle in a round of dishes running in the dishwasher, I caved.  First, I looked at Corelle Ware.  It's not as ugly as it used to be, and my great-grandchildren could probably use it.  Then I did a little online research and happened upon a blog by a cook where the question was poised, "what dishes do you use?" Over and over again the commenters mentioned Corelle Ware or Aspen dishes from Crate and Barrel.  Again and again, they mentioned durability (kind of important in this house) and affordability (really important in this house).  We don't have a local Crate and Barrel.  Andy was also at the end of his rope with the dishes.  In fact when I said I was looking, he immediately discarded what was left of the Wal-mart dishes, not even kidding.  They were there and then they were gone.  I went out to see the Corelle Ware in person and just did not like the pattern we chose online, so I ordered the Aspen dishes without seeing them in person.   

I am so glad I did.  Here's the pros and cons:

Pros: They are easily replaceable and affordable.  I bought sets of eight salad plates, dinner plates and bowls.  We rarely eat on dinner plates around here.  Every meal is served on salad plates both for portion control and ease of clean up after the meal.  Even though I bought sets, I can buy the dishes individually.  This set has been around for years and will likely stay around for many more years.

They are simple, sturdy and not too bulky.  They stack nicely.

The bowls are perfect for salads.  I like them better than the Corelle Ware for the replacement option. I can buy one plate or a set.  Had I bought the Corelle Ware, I would have had a set of cups and saucers that we never would use- likely going immediately to the Good Will. 

Cons: Crate and Barrel is not local, and shipping is not cheap.  I wish they offered a smaller bowl option as these are too big for cereal or ice cream.  I do also wish that this pattern came in colors.  I wanted white as a basic set but would love to have some pieces in other colors to mix it up (maybe I have some of my grandma in me after all :))

In the end I was pleased to get new dishes, a long overdue purchase.  I will likely order another set of salad plates and possibly another set of bowls. As I like to do, I will wait for a coupon on that.  So if you are in the market for classy, affordable, and replaceable dishes...

Savannah is home!

On Friday night we were invited to an impromptu bonfire to wine down from the week (pun intended). We enjoyed that for about an hour and a half before racing off to the airport to pick up Savannah.  She returned with some good stories and little sadness over being home so soon.  I think one more day would have been nice.  She also took advantage of having access to a better camera on her phone to really take some pictures, so I am posting some of my favorites.  Rather than capture the places they visited, she opted to take lots of pictures of her friends, and I know she will always treasure these.  By the dinnertime yesterday, she had them uploaded in Snapfish and a print order submitted.

my favorite

birthday squad pic

submarine ride

To be young again...sigh

Beautiful Friendship

A few weeks before Savannah left for her senior trip, one of her dearest friends called me to ask if I had any birthday ideas for Savannah and/or if I wanted to send anything with her to help celebrate.  I had already been trying to figure out how I could make Savannah's birthday special in the middle of a school trip, but I had no ideas.  Fortunately, this particular friend is an incredible artist possessing amazing creativity and a very pure heart.  She shared some of her ideas, so we conspired to make the day a memorable one for Savannah.

I love Savannah's friends - such great people!

I sent pictures as was E's idea, and she got up at 2:00a.m. to decorate the room with them.  Bless her! How did I choose pictures?  I simply went back over the years to Savannah's friend parties and sent pictures of her birthdays past celebrating with friends.  I then took the pictures she downloaded on the computer from her phone, and printed those too.  Andy, the rest of the kids and I all sent cards with E for Savannah to open last night.

A friend of mine was in California last week and posted pictures of her kids eating a ginormous donut.  I sent $10 with Savannah and told her to splurge on one of those for her birthday dessert.  However, I gave her the freedom to choose anything she wanted on any day.  She's not much of an eater and especially not when in the sun all day at an amusement park.  She opted for the donut, and I see that E made sure she had a pin to identify her as a birthday girl.  When Savannah sent this picture, I asked about the necklace she's wearing as she does not wear necklaces often.  She and E found matching penguin necklaces and bought them.  Savannah loves penguins, in case you did not know.  They make her happy.

This is the coolest.  E told me that she was going to make a birthday poster and cut it into 18 pieces which she would hand out to Savannah's friends.  They were to write birthday wishes on the back and randomly hand them to Savannah during the day.  I thought this was such a great idea, but I had no clue how amazing the front would look or what theme E would use.  Did I mention that E is an incredible artist?  I just love her.  She even texted me to update me on how Savannah was enjoying her birthday - precious!!

Someone mentioned to me that it must be bittersweet to be apart from Savannah on this birthday.  I am just so happy for her to have this day with friends.  High school is ending soon, and these kids will try and stay in touch, but we know that life's roads will pull them apart.  It won't be the same whatever they choose, so I am grateful that she gets to relish this time with some truly amazing people in these last weeks before she walks out of her school for the last time as a student.

Happy Birthday

 She came into the world screaming.  It was quickly apparent that she was hungry or at least wanted to take comfort in eating which I find ironic to this day.  She ate so little as an infant that I was convinced she was starving within a month, and to this day, she forgets to eat and sometimes has to watch to keep her weight from getting too low.

Her preschool years were sassy.  Savannah had a fiery red-headed temper, but she was also very sweet.  I remember thinking that I could predict her future teacher conferences.  I expected to hear that she was sweet but chatty.

Half way through kindergarten, her best friend switched campuses, and Savannah changed dramatically after that.  She became much more quiet, and that quietness still defines her to this day.

I can't describe the young lady she has become any better than the way we described her in her senior ad.  I think it is close enough to the yearbook release to publish this on the blog.

Happy Birthday to the girl who has brought us more smiles than I can count.

Look what we got today

track star

Eighteen Candles

We gathered the family on Saturday to celebrate eighteen years with Savannah.  We were a tad early as her birthday is not until Wednesday, but she is on her senior trip this week, so we won't actually see her in person on the big day.  

Savannah requested cheesecake for dessert, and Andy outdid himself with three cheesecakes including one super yummy and popular s'mores cheesecake. When Savannah was preparing to leave last night, she mentioned that she was sad to leave the leftover cheesecake behind.

Savannah likes shoes, and it seems to be becoming a tradition that we get her shoes for her birthday.  As she prepares to head to college, she requested rain boots as I have warned her that during my time on that campus, rain boots were a necessity.  It was a BOGO sale, so we also splurged on a new pair of Bobs for her.  She's making good use of them on her trip today.  Savannah actually shopped and picked up two more pairs of shoes yesterday.  She needed something for graduation, so she picked up a cute pair of wedges, and her prom shoes have gone missing, so she replaced them (very reluctantly).  We are still hoping they show up.

a little ham

Ira is a trip.  I took four pictures like this, and he had the exact same face in every one of them.

How stinkin' cute is she?!  Kallie was awake and alert for most of the party, and she is at that awesome stage where she's all smiles.  It's so crazy to think that she is just three months old today.  With all that hair she looks older in pictures.

I think Savannah enjoyed the party with family.  This one is a little bittersweet as I stop inviting extended family over for celebrations once the kids hit nineteen. If it weren't spring break, I might have tried to coordinate something to include her friends, but most of them were out of town. We face so many lasts coming in the next few weeks as this one prepares to launch into adulthood.

Right now, Savannah is probably beyond tired.  She was up to meet her class at 4:30 this morning to start an eight hour journey to their senior trip destination.  I hope she has tons of fun and makes lots of great memories. Savannah was hopeful that her friends would remember her birthday and do something for it.  I have it on good authority that something is in the works ;)

early morning

hanging with friends today

I teased her last night about turning eighteen on the senior trip.  I told her that the chaperones will keep their eyes on her to make sure she doesn't get a tattoo or something.  If you know Savannah, you know that even the chaperones would laugh at the very idea of Savannah doing something like that. It's not her style.

Spring Break Day Trip

We are on spring break this week, and while we drool over others' photos of pristine beaches, we are at home with a to-do list.

Our  my goals for the week include

Purging my closet -accomplished Monday

getting Savannah's prom dress to the seamstress for alterations - accomplished Monday, however,
it is still going to be too big on top as the seamstress said altering around the beading is too hard, so we have to make a plan for that- pins? my own sad hand-stitching? body tape? or take it to a bridal shop and hope we don't lose the house paying for it  - probably going with the last one - yikes!  When a tiny Asian seamstress points to your daughter and tells her she needs to eat more, she might ought to listen. :)

filing taxes - that is planned for today, but we need a form from Zach that I have been asking for for several days, and he still has not produced it, so we may have to wait until tomorrow

celebrate Savannah's birthday - okay this is a fun one, but it does involve work, and we have a plan for it

As is usual for us, we wanted one fun day on this break.  It's the first time Andy and I have had a week off together in over a year, so we desired rest and family togetherness along with a break big enough to tackle some daunting tasks.  Our first choice was to go to a spring meet at a horse track that we have never visited, but the weather looks iffy, and it's a park like place meaning outdoor viewing, so we looked for another option.  We landed on a day trip to hike in both a state and national park.  Zach could not join us as he is not on spring break and had a big project due.  I would have loved to include the kids' friends but did not want to take two vehicles and probably would have needed to do so.  In the end it worked out just fine, and what follows will be an obnoxious number of pictures taken during our day trip.  Bonus: it only cost us a tank of gas and the price to pack trail snacks along with deli sandwiches.


Our road trip in pictures:

The girls played with selfies on the way.

Julia likes to be daring.

She's also very funny.  She started the day by insisting it would be a selfie tour, so she sought selfie spots and took her own pictures.

This is the proof that I was there.

When Wyatt saw this and realized we were headed to the top, he stated, "I see fear."  

I hear ya buddy.

fat man's misery

the view from the top

two things on this

1. I want to see it in the fall.

2. I wish more of the spring foliage were in bloom.

because we must do handstands on the top of the bridge

Julia was mad that I would not let her go to the edge with Andy.

Wyatt had a hard time at the top.  It was windy, but he did acknowledge that the view was great and that he was having fun.

top of the bridge

an overlook - love this shot of Savannah

our view from the overlook

the overlook 

fat man's misery

Julia loved this bridge

After we left the natural bridge, we headed into national park to hike a trail that promised an arch and a waterfall.

The trail started off very pretty and almost tropical looking.

We have some climbers in the group.

and some silliness

I captured a hard to get natural smile.

love this!

rock path

a lesson in skipping rocks

my favorite photo of the day

Andy works on skipping rocks with Wyatt.  I love it not just for the relationship captured but also for the richness of color and clarity of the photo.

I wish I had my camera booklet with me. A better depth of field would have made this picture amazing and capture the true wonder of this arch.  I never went on manual mode yesterday.  I took the camera to work on my intellectual goal, but instead I just captured memories, and I am okay with that.

Climbing this took effort from every hiker we saw except for Julia.  She shimmied up that thing like she does that everyday.

Andy and the girls on top of the arch.

The picture below gives a better perspective of how far I was from them.

The first part of the climb to the arch.

We came home exhausted, but we all agreed it was a great day.