meaningful

I'm sentimental.  I like things that mean something.

I'm also kind of weird.  I like things that are a little "off"  --  things that don't match.

I guess that's why, for almost a year now, I've been collecting china from not only my wanderings and adventures, but most importantly, my family members.  My hope is that someday, I can have a formal dining table that has a different place setting for each person.

Let me tell you, I'm in love.

The first two place settings I acquired at the same time.  They were given to me for my 21st birthday by my Grandma Marsha (my grandma on my dad's side).

One of the sets was, at one time, an extremely expensive collection.  It was given to my grandmother's grandma, so my great-great-grandmother, by my great-great-grandfather after they made a substantial amount of money from an oil lease they had in Bradford, PA.

Yep.  You're counting correctly.  Eight pieces.  Insane!  I'm not even sure how to put it all together!  My grandma knows, so I'll have to ask her again.  But seriously, how many plates do you need??  I mean, I'm all for it, because I don't like my food to touch.  But if I dirtied this many plates in one sitting, my mother would not be happy with me ;)

Isn't it gorgeous though??  Look at the detailing... and how it's gold-rimmed.  Reason number 7394 why I need gold flatware (hint hint).

And just because it's so dreamy, here's another instagram shot of it.

............

The second set I got from my grandma that day was from her pink depression glass collection.  Let me tell you.  This opened a can of worms.  Really.  I'm officially obsessed with depression glass now, too and (don't tell him I told you but...) so is my boyfriend.  The antique mall is now one of my favorite places ever because I can lose hours in there prowling over the endless depression glass, occasional china, and lucky finds of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls.

She doesn't have any set pattern that she collects, because most of it is inherited, from garage sales, or gifts. I don't care though, because like I said before, I like things that are a little off.

I also bought my own saucer at the antique mall last summer, but I still need a teacup to go with it, so I didn't get it out to take pictures of it.  I'm looking to expand this place setting, as it looks pretty bare compared to my eight-piece monster above.

As you can see, they're all different patterns.  I love this pink, though because it has sort of a whimsical feel to it.  I also love that it was my grandma's.  She's a pretty special lady :)

I'm also due to receive a pink depression glass cake stand that is currently my Grandma Ruth's (my grandma on my mom's side).  It was her Aunt Oma's cake stand.  Her Aunt Oma and her husband never had children, so my grandma and her six siblings were pretty special to them.  She said it's mine whenever I have a place for it.  I told her I'd rather it be at her house, on display in a china cabinet, than boxed up and in the dark until I have my own place with my own china cabinet.  So she's keeping it safe for me :) 

...........

The next place setting I acquired is also depression glass and isn't from anyone in my family.  A very kind, sweet woman named Gloria collected the pattern for over thirty years.  She had over 400 pieces of it when we found it on Craigslist last June.  Not only did my boyfriend drive me the two and a half hours to go get it, but he also paid for the whole set.  Forget jewelry, I'm happiest with dinnerware!

Gloria and her husband, Bob, were clearing their house out of all of Gloria's wonderful collections.  She said it broke her heart that none of her kids wanted it, and she needed it to all be sold together, for her own peace of mind.  We planned to keep what we wanted of it and sell the other pieces, because there were so many duplicate items.

It was wonderful.  They wanted us to be able to see the whole lot before it was packed away and paid for, so we spent close to two hours at their house wrapping up the dishes and safely packing them away.  As Roger and Bob were loading it all into our car, Gloria and I started talking.  We somehow started talking about cameras and I told her how Roger got me a new camera as an early birthday present.

She asked me when my birthday was and I told her it's in July and she asked me what day.  Naturally, I told her it was the 16th and she just looked at me, jaw dropped.  "You're kidding," she said to me.  I assured her I wasn't and she started to cry.  She told me that July 16th is her birthday too.

Somehow, I feel that this depression glass was supposed to go with me.  Gloria said she felt so much better about parting with the set and knew I was the right person for it.

Anyway, here are the pictures of some pieces we've had on sale on Etsy.  Feel free to check out our store!  It's called HuckleberryWishes.  We're in the process of putting items back up.

Our butter dishes went fast.  I was so relieved to hear that our buyers were as captivated by them as I was and still am.

I think the most remarkable thing about this collection is that every. single. piece. is Floragold Louisa Jeannette (or some variation of those names).  I don't remember exactly right now, because I don't have my book with me right now.  But she collected this pattern from garage and estate sales and somehow managed to have 400 pieces by the time she was done.

I still have to go through it all and pick out the place settings I want and which serving dishes I can't bear to part with.  We already know that the round butter dish stays with us.  We're okay with selling the salt and pepper shakers (even though she only came across one set in her entire lifetime) and the pitchers.  I'm so thankful for Gloria, and I know that I was chosen to come into her life and allow her to let go of this.

.........

Right before Thanksgiving, I was at my Aunt Kathi's house for dinner.  She served some of the food in some of her formal china dishes.  I told her how gorgeous it was (because it totally is) and my mom told her about my weird desire to have mismatched place settings.

So time went on and I graduated from college and all of the sudden, I had a graduation present from my Aunt Kathi waiting for me at my Grandma Ruth's house.  It was one huge box.  I was so puzzled because I didn't ever expect a graduation gift from her, let alone something this size.

I opened the box and looked at what will always be one of my favorite presents ever.  She had found her pattern online and ordered a replacement place setting.  It's all packaged up, nice and safe, and I plan to keep it that way until I have a safe place to put it.

It's like shrink-wrapped super tight so that none of the pieces can move in transport... which is what I need since I might be moving somewhere crazy before this summer is over.  That's why the pictures aren't so great.  But how pretty is this??  It's the pattern that she picked out and registered for before her wedding, and because it was hers, it'll always have a special place in my heart.

.............

I also have another set of depression glass that I don't have any pictures of yet.  Roger found it on Craigslist and picked it up for me in November.  It's just an assortment of patterns and there's only about 30 pieces but I'm going to save some and post others on Etsy.  It also wasn't the best Craigslist experience, as they already had it packaged (which was fine because Roger was in a hurry that day).  When he got it home, we realized that something that was in the picture, they hadn't included.  After several e-mails, we finally got them to ship the missing pieces to us, free of charge.

I still love it because Roger got it for me, and it's nice, pure, and clear like the ones here.

.............

I also plan on getting a place setting of china of my choosing.  Something more modern with pretty colors.  I know exactly what I want, but I'm not going to post a link of it today.  Someday, when I get it, I will for sure  post pictures.  I still plan to take more pictures of the ones that I have and maybe even set them all up together on a table sometime soon.

..............

I can't wait to expand my collection.  My mom said I can't have hers because she doesn't want to be down a place setting for dinners we have at our house.  Understandable.  But I still think she's messing with me.  I still think I'll be the proud holder of one of her settings someday.

I'm looking forward to making more memories and holding other pieces close to my heart.  The best thing about all of this is being able to possess things that have such a history and such sentimental meaning.

<3