Dishing it out

I blame my Aunt Beverly for my vast dish collections. She’s in Heaven now and can’t refute this, so you’ll just have to roll with my recollection.

When I settled into my first long-term apartment after college, Aunt Bev looked around my kitchen and said, “If I lived alone, I’d have a different set of dishes for every season.” BAM! I liked that idea. I looooooooved that idea. I embraced that idea.

I embraced that idea so firmly, I’m now able to loan out my entire collection of glass luncheon plates (52) and never miss them. Traditionally, I use my full set (12) of heavy Pier 1 “crackle” dishes December-February, my set (12) of yellow HomeTrend dishes March-May, my Johnson Bros. blue-and-white transferware set (8) June-August, then return to the yellow for Fall. I just sold the transferware, so now I’m in the market for a trendy set of white plates.

But why stop at plates? I mean, we need serving bowls and platters, don’t we? Yes. Yes, we do. And maybe a cake stand. Possibly a footed trifle bowl. Pudding cups are awesome.

You see how this Aunt Bev idea quickly grew into an obsession? And—bonus!—these dish patterns are retired. (Or as I like to call it, “out of print.”) So resale sites like eBay and replacements.com are both my enabler and my nemesis. You can find me late at night by following the soft glow of my computer screen as I scroll, scroll, scroll through page after page after page of retired dinnerware. 

I console myself by recognizing there are far worse obsessions than dishes. Like, glassware. See, it all started with a set of gold-rimmed crystal I found in Austria…