So, it's no secret that I love alliteration.
Anyway, I decided to start posting pictures of some of my favorite mugs in my newsletter, just because! And then I thought, it's kind of a shame that I can't say more about them. So, I've decided to devote an entire day of the week to them on one of my blogs. It's very possible that I'm the only one who is at all interested in this topic, and I'm okay with that. HOWEVER, if you are interested and care to comment occasionally, I would LOVE that. And if I get enough interest (on any of my weekly blog topics, on either of my primary blogs) I think I'm going to have to organize regular giveaways. Just sayin'
To continue...
This week's mugs are from Rae Dunn's Artisan Collection. I love big mugs. I love things that look like they're hand-made (even when they're not). And I love Fall. So it's a foregone conclusion that I LOVE these mugs. And that's even before you factor in the beautiful wooden lids (that turn into coasters!) and the slogans.
I'm currently living in Texas, so Y'All is one of my new go-to language shortcuts...I'll be honest, I've been using it For. Years. but now I'm legit. lol! Sweater Weather is the title of a short-story collection I'm working on. It will be a collection of all my Ugly Christmas Sweater stories, so it won't be out for a couple more years. It's also the title of song that is definitely on my Ugly Christmas Sweater Playlist, but more on that later.
The funny thing about that is that, IMHO, Fall is NOT Sweater Weather here in the Texas Hill Country. It's Thank-God-it's-Not-So-Hot Weather. I won't be wearing sweaters for awhile yet!
Because this is the first post of this kind, I thought it would also be cool to show off the Coffee & Tea Bar that I have set up in my kitchen. This is the most ME place in my entire house--even more than my desk, which is strange when you consider that I basically LIVE at my desk. True fact--ask anyone in my family and they'll be happy to complain about agree with me!
The cabinet is an antique. It's beautiful quarter-cut tiger oak in amazing condition. I bought it in Napa, California and it's one of my favorite pieces even though I can't ever look at it without remembering how my poor dog crashed head-first into it, broke a tooth and knocked one of the supports loose. Damn, I miss him! The mats protecting the surface are bamboo placemats that my parents bought in the 70s when all things Japanese were in vogue.
At least that was the case in Fort Lee, New Jersey because there was a large Japanese population, at the time, and my parents were extremely sociable. They were constantly having people over and, since they loved to cook, it was usually for dinner. Or cooking lessons! This is when they learned to make Teriyaki and Sukiyaki and Sushi...but I digress.
The espresso machine on the left was a Christmas gift from my brother about forty years ago when I was living in a loft in Manhattan. No kitchen. We ate out ALL THE TIME.
The coffee machine is new, because I burn through them pretty fast. The little yellow-ish coffee grinder was also a gift, probably from the same Christmas. Given its age, you might think it's Harvest Gold. But, the truth is, it used to be white. It's not pretty and it is being held together with tape, but I have a weird utilitarian streak. It works perfectly, so I can't justify replacing it.
The blue Delft canisters were my mother's. She loved blue.
The tea kettle is new-ish. I've been using one since the trip my husband and I took to Ireland with our daughter in 2013. I always felt that a stove-top kettle was good enough (despite the fact that I routinely burned through kettles because I ALWAYS got distracted and forgot I had it on) but my daughter had spent the previous year living and working around Europe and finally convinced me that electric kettles were the way to go.
The mug tree on the right and the shelf above are my father's handiwork.
So...that's my happy place and the place where a revolving collections of my mugs live. I have many, many, many more. Because for every one I give away, I seem to collect another dozen.
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