Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Favourite Things

Hi, everyone! Katie here. And this is the young lady who serves me earl grey at all hours. The look on her face would suggest she's not always happy about this task. Or maybe she just wishes I weren't right-handed. She is a piece of restaurant ware that I picked up at a yard sale several years ago and she's been a great companion these past few weeks while I nurse yet another head cold. I have plenty of others in different patterns, but this is the cup I grab as often as it is clean. There's just something about its shape and sturdiness that I find comforting and though the water inside may be boiling, I never get burned thanks to its ridiculously thick handle. I like to imagine all those who've been served by my vintage restaurant ware. Were they regulars in a small cafe or guests at a large hotel? I wonder at how this stuff has survived all the abuse of a commercial kitchen and yet it keeps on serving a purpose and looks great doing it.

Forgive me while I wax poetic over an inanimate object, but I think this particular style of china makes for a great symbol of the human spirit--breakable, but not easily broken.


I stumbled upon a flickr group for restaurant ware enthusiasts if you'd like to take a peek at some other fine examples of this humble china. There's also a good bit to be found on Etsy.

And now, I must ask, how do you like your tea? I'm in need of new ideas. Pregnancy has me missing the all-day consumption of caffeinated coffee and decaf earl grey with cream & sugar is bound to get old before I'm able to resume the coffee-drinking marathons.

Here's hoping your Tuesday is beautiful! --Katie :D
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Have a Favourite Thing you'd like to share with the team? Leave a comment and I'll get in touch or contact me via Etsy and next Tuesday's Favourite Thing could be yours. (It's either that, or I'll hunt you down and wrangle something out of you myself.)

11 comments:

  1. What a lovely little tea cup! I drank lots of herbal teas when I was expecting :)

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  2. I drank lots of herbal teas when I was preggo too. Lately mint or peach seem to own my heart!

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  3. Thank you for sharing your favorite thing, Katie! When I was pregnant - yes, it was rather a long time ago - my early morning tea gave me really bad morning sickness, and that developed into an intolerance to milk which I still have. Instead, I discovered an old fashioned British red fruit cordial called Vimto, which I mixed with still or sparkling water - it had the advantage of looking like red wine too!

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  4. I love this, Katie! You've just made Tuesdays as special for me as Kristin has made Mondays! Gotta run errands right now but I'll be back soon -- with my own eccentric ideas about tea and restaurant ware! :) xoxo Mollie

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  5. i cried tears of joy reading your post katie!
    this is what every day is about. everyday is about a cup of tea in your favorite cup, so you wash it out specifically and leave all the rest of the dishes sitting dirty because you want to feel the weight or look at the picture and smile. everyday is time for reflection and the gift of some solitude, even if just for a few minutes. everyday the amazing child that is growing inside you is a promise of wondrous and magical times to come. these are the "life-full" things that matter everyday...thank you for the reminder and the gift of bringing your favorite thing to our blog.
    love to you...all of you..
    kristin

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  6. Great start Katie! Looks like a lovely cup to hold in both hands and sip slowly from ;-)
    Herbal & fruit teas for me when pregnant, although my favourite was hot chocolate: not the "just add water" stuff, but full fat milk with proper cocoa powder and a sprinkle of grated dark chocolate on top if feeling very needy - delicious & good for your growing baby plus the heating the milk on the stove is a nice little ritual!!!!
    Sam x (cityroad!)

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  7. This lovely blog post of your, Katie has taken me in a few different directions, as I pour hot water for mint tea into a favorite very solid old cup; Familiar and favorite things of all types from different times in my life help bring comfort to my days: your "ode to your cup" reminds me me of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda and his Odes to Common Things/Odas a Las Cosas: pages and pages of amazing poems to things around him/us- like a chair, an onion, a pair of socks.

    And your pregnancy and that of JennJohn's, a reminder of the cycles of life--alongside the endings in life are the new beginnings...

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  8. What a wonderful post and a reminder of how special such little things can be to us! My sister-in-law loves old restaurant ware and uses only those kinds of thick and heavy mugs in her kitchen. I like my handmade ceramic mugs, though. Tea? Peach seems to be my current favorite, with a touch of honey. It's kind of a comfort thing, I guess. One kind only would get old, I'm thinking, so branch out during your pregnant and nursing months!

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  9. hi Katie! wonderful blog and thanks to Peggy at The Beadaerie for her treasury with a great link! I am going to link up my treasury right now to this blog!!
    thanks so much all of you! EPE rocks!

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  10. I am just brewing my morning cuppa ...... a strong English Breakfast tea, lots of milk and half a teaspoon of honey. When I was expecting I was just the same as Sam .... proper hot chocolate. :)
    I love your little cup.

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  11. Thanks for all the delicious-sounding suggestions and for linking to the blog through your treasuries! Off to go grab my freshly-washed cup and enjoy some tea...

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