Info FOr You a little more use your good stuff...
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
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A quick follow-up to my "use your good stuff" post... I wanted to share a few more stories with you.
Several of you commented that you use your wedding sterling as your everyday flatware. I love that and wanted to share the idea with those who perhaps didn't read the comments from the last post. My everyday flatware is also sterling, though not my wedding sterling which is "Joan of Arc" that I inherited from my grandmother because of the "Joan" part;) We found our everyday sterling flatware at an antique shop in Salina, Kansas (I liked the scale of the purchased sterling better than my wedding flatware) and have added to it over the years as we would find it at antique shops and shows. Though all the same sterling pattern, many pieces are different- some are plain and some are monogrammed with different initials that came from separate purchases- I love the mix of the different initials all together at one setting. I initially got the idea to use sterling as my everyday flatware from "my much older sister ;)" Susan. She was the first person I ever heard of (this was about 30 + years ago) who started to use her wedding sterling flatware as her everyday flatware. I loved the idea, and another bonus of using the good stuff is that using sterling actually keeps it from needing to be polished! The oils from handling keeps it shining! So, the more you use it the prettier it is, and the little scratches from everyday use creates a beautiful, loved patina!
If you don't have wedding sterling flatware look for patterns you like at antique shops. Sterling is so affordable right now that you can find some great deals out there, and as I mentioned it looks wonderful all mixed together- doesn't even have to be the same pattern. It's a purchase that will last your lifetime and one that you can then pass down.
If you don't have wedding sterling flatware look for patterns you like at antique shops. Sterling is so affordable right now that you can find some great deals out there, and as I mentioned it looks wonderful all mixed together- doesn't even have to be the same pattern. It's a purchase that will last your lifetime and one that you can then pass down.
As a young girl I always knew that my grandmother's sterling flatware would one day be mine and I have always loved the simplicity of the pattern. I would have chosen it myself. Perhaps that is where my mother came up with the idea to give my niece, Jenny, her sterling flatware as gifts when she was a little girl growing up. I wanted to share the idea with you which I think is a wonderful one:
When Jenny was a little girl my mother knew that she would receive all her gift-wants/desires for Christmas and her birthday from her parents and friends, and wanted to give her gifts that would last and mean something special for longer than a month or two;), so at the young age of 10 her mother, my much older;) middle sister, took Jenny to the china department of a store and over the course of a few visits Jenny picked out a sterling pattern that she liked. Every Christmas and birthday my mother would send Jenny a piece of her sterling flatware instead of p.j.'s or a stuffed animal! A special gift that would last forever! To this day, Jenny (as I did my own) loves the pattern that she picked out as a child and now has a full service. I think it is such a great idea and makes such a special gift that I wanted to share the idea with all you mothers/aunts/grandmothers out there!
When Jenny was a little girl my mother knew that she would receive all her gift-wants/desires for Christmas and her birthday from her parents and friends, and wanted to give her gifts that would last and mean something special for longer than a month or two;), so at the young age of 10 her mother, my much older;) middle sister, took Jenny to the china department of a store and over the course of a few visits Jenny picked out a sterling pattern that she liked. Every Christmas and birthday my mother would send Jenny a piece of her sterling flatware instead of p.j.'s or a stuffed animal! A special gift that would last forever! To this day, Jenny (as I did my own) loves the pattern that she picked out as a child and now has a full service. I think it is such a great idea and makes such a special gift that I wanted to share the idea with all you mothers/aunts/grandmothers out there!
And, lastly a funny story that brings home my ardent stance of "use your good stuff"....
It was the first Christmas in our first home and we were invited to our next door neighbors house for a Christmas party. Our neighbors were older and had a huge collection of Waterford crystal- so much so that they had even built a special room onto the house to showcase and display their large collection. This was not a casual outdoor BBQ, or a large party, or one where children were invited, but a lovely, formal small party of neighbors, and yet even with their huge collection of Waterford crystal sitting on display in the next room they served their guests wine in RED PLASTIC CUPS!! Nothing says "you're welcome here" at a formal party like a red plastic cup!!
Again... use the good stuff! :)
happy weekend to you!
xxojoan
Again... use the good stuff! :)
happy weekend to you!
xxojoan