All of us have our “good things” tucked away for those special occasions but I would like to make a case for taking these beautiful things out of storage and using them any day of the week. I know this is breaking some sort of assumed rule, somehow handed down along with the objects, but I want you to try. Now, keep in mind that some of them might break and that is the chance you take. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
I speak from experience. My sister, her husband and my two nephews came to visit last summer and within less than a half hours time of their arrival, two antique glasses from two different glass collections were tragically broken. I never had boys so I didn’t know how their elbows and knees go everywhere while they play fight and age didn’t seem to be a factor either as one nephew was 10 and the other 18. Okay, pause to let this one go.
Back to my point – food seems to taste better eaten off of china plates and tea more fragrant sipped out of antique cups, turning an ordinary meal into a sensory moment of reflection. A quiet pause in an otherwise busy day. And, as lifestyles change, more people are too hastily discarding these treasures from days gone by so you can easily add to your collection for a modest sum at local thrift and antique stores. Whenever I find linen napkins for sale, I snatch them up to add to my ever-growing collection, using them often, laundered but not always ironed, and presented on a plate encircled by mismatched napkin rings.
Have some fun with this and don’t take it too seriously. Who says all of the plates have to match anyway, think about coordinating instead. While you are at it, why not buy that bouquet of flowers that caught your eye when grocery shopping and place them in your best vase in the middle of the table, in the middle of the week, for no reason at all, except to celebrate a day fully lived in the moment.
Watch the reaction from family members as they sit down around a company set table made just for them. Think of all the practice you will have setting beautiful, creative tablescapes throughout the year, getting you into shape for that holiday table.
And the next time my nephews come to visit, what do I plan on doing? Well maybe second best for that occasion.
