Woman in Real Life

I have a weakness for plates. Plates of all colours, shapes and sizes. My cupboard tells the story. Instead of tidy, cohesive piles of plates, there are wobbly stacks of oddly sized plates leaning at precarious angles. When my daughter empties the dishwasher, she fits the plates together in order of size on the counter top before putting them in the cupboard. When my son empties the dishwasher, it's another story. Let's just say you have to take care when opening the cupboard doors.

I recently spotted these peach-coloured plates with pleasant little fish around the edges at the thrift store. I don't have any plates in this colour, I rationalized. And the fish are so cute!

The ease and beauty of summertime calls for table settings that are eclectic, pretty and practical. Don't put away your formal china - summer "casual" doesn't have to mean plastic cutlery and paper plates. Instead, opt for a mix and match summer table that nods to summer's informal qualities while celebrating a season made for socializing.

Classic and modern, formal and informal, bold and demure, floral and check, silver and gold, fun and serious, high and low - all of these elements can work together for a lovely summer table. I was challenged to take a few pieces of fine tableware from Classic Replacements to act as the foundation of my summer table.

Although winter stuck around much longer than I would have liked (there was even snow on the porch this morning!), I was determined to add spring touches to the house when the calendar hit April. I may not be able to open my windows to let in a fresh spring breeze, but I can make sure my family sits down to eat at a beautiful spring table. With help from the folks at O.co (also known as Overstock.com), I created a pretty, cheerful table that clearly says, "Spring has sprung."

Sorry I crapped out on last week's Vintage Bliss Tuesday. My family and I were being filmed for a VisionTV Christmas special! I can't wait to tell you more about it (like when you can watch it - gulp). More later. In the meantime, let's get on with the Vintage Bliss Tuesday fun, shall we?

My sister very thoughtfully picked up this lidded dish at the thrift store for me recently. She knows how much I like owls. In fact, I recall having some other dishes with this pattern when I was younger. I don't know if I eventually broke them or decided to donate them, but it's kind of fun to have this pattern around again.

With temperatures finally creeping above zero, I'm starting to feel like spring is on the horizon. Perhaps that's why, on a weekend trip to Goodwill with my sister, I was drawn to these pretty plates that seem to speak of spring, as well as a vividly coloured floral tray.

Some people pooh-pooh the commercial end of Valentine's Day, and I get that. I really do. I love to get a gift as much as the next girl, but the best gifts are true expressions of love. Not just the love between romantic partners, but the love between friends, neighbours, parents and children, extended family, found families - whomever you love really.

That's why I think it's nice to make a bit of a fuss about Valentine's Day. Even if you don't buy anything, you can certainly throw around a few extra compliments and firm hugs. Make somebody a hot cup of tea (chocolate chip scones would be even better!). It is in this spirit that I asked the family to paint some Valentine's Day-related dishes with me recently. The boy and the husband chose to do something else instead. Fair enough. The spirit of Valentine's Day doesn't seem to call for forcing people to do things. But my little girl and I had lots of fun with this simple Valentine's Day craft activity.

When we visited my parents on Canada Day, we drove into town for lunch and a little stroll. The Salvation Army store was closed for the holiday, but we noticed that people had left a lot of donations by the back door. I admired a large brown vase and a glass serving platter.

The next day, my mom and I headed back into town to do some errands and decided to stop by the Salvation Army to see if the vase had hit the shelves yet. We didn't see it around, so my mom asked one of the employees about it. He said he had come in early that morning and there was no vase outside. He added that people often rifle through the donations at night, taking what they want from the piles. And here I was being all ethical. Anyway, I spotted a few legitimate finds in the store, like this happy flower mug for 50 cents.

I have been much more picky about what I purchase at the thrift shops these last few months. I simply don't have room for any more dishes! And yet, yes, I just had to have this fish-shaped serving dish. And why not? It's summer and, after that long, cold winter, I figure I deserve to use fun, festive dishware, right? I can rationalize my purchases with the best of them. Plus this little guy is oven safe. Not that I would subject him to the oven. No way.

Turns out this cute fish dish is a piece of Coche Stoneware, made in Portugal by Eurogres. From what I can tell, this stoneware is no longer in production, but there are a few pieces floating around on eBay.

Up until this past Saturday, it had been many weeks since I thrifted any dishes. For good reason. I don't have any more room to store them! However I am growing tired of our regular dishes so I decided to supplement them with these pretty blue pieces I spotted at the Salvation Army.

I also picked up a pretty green jug. Because you can always squeeze in another jug, right? I proudly told my husband, "I love these little thrifted jugs." "Me too," he said, sarcastic of course.

So many readers have admired the owl mug I got from my husband and the kids last Mother's Day. That's why, when I saw these hand-painted folk owl mugs at Anthropologie.com I just had to share a pic with you. They are $14 each. Not too bad.