Mel's World

When I was a little girl my Nana always had the most beautiful dishes and glasses. We ate from fine china at most meals, kids included. I remember eating chili from fine china on a regular basis. Of course, at the time I had no idea what I was eating from. Years ago Nana gave me a set of her china (she has many) and all of those memories came flooding back. It wasn’t until then that I realized I really had grown up with a silver spoon in my mouth!! Another memory from Nana’s house was her “sexy glasses” that went with the beautiful china. Sexy glasses, that’s what I called any glass with a stem. To me, sexy meant fancy and boy did I love being fancy! Still do! If you stop by during breakfast you will most likely catch me drinking my daily orange juice in a sexy glass! It just feels so good! It changes your mood, makes you feel special and why pass up a moment to feel special?

So, a couple of years ago I was watching Giada de Laurentiis on the Food Network and she was mixing a recipe in the most beautiful bowl. I was taken back by how beautiful this bowl was and she was just using it to mix the food, not present it. She actually used another bowl to make her final presentation. I started paying attention and noticed she always used beautiful dishes for everything. I found myself wishing I had beautiful dishes like that to mix my food in and then it hit me!! Why can’t I??? Me and my kitchen are just as deserving right? Right! I decided then that there was no reason to use a dish that wasn’t absolutely gorgeous! So, I shared this with my friend Pam, a fellow foodie of mine (among other things), and she bought me my first bowl to start me on the road to gorgeous dishes! My sister in law, Sara has given me several beautiful dishes over the years that I treasure. Its a passion that we seem to share. And lets not leave Nana out, she has given me many of those dishes that I grew up with that hold a special place in my heart. I decided I wouldn’t throw out all of my dishes and go out and buy all new stuff. I wanted it to be something fabulous that I just came across randomly and didn’t want to live without. I don’t like having more than I need because it makes me feel cluttered and overwhelmed, so as you collect, get rid of things that don’t feel special to you, there’s no reason to use anything that doesn’t make you feel great!  Don’t settle because it serves a function, make it great every time.

What one may see as beautiful may not be so for another but this is all about you! I have many dishes that are beautiful to me because of a memory that it recalls or because of the person who gave me the dish makes me smile when I use it. Beauty is very broad in my opinion.  Serve your boxed macaroni and cheese in the most fancy bowl you have! Mix your cookies in the dish you love the most. Why not? Use it for yourself and those around you every day!  We always deserve to feel great in whatever we are doing, no matter how routine. You never know you might even feel sexy!!

A few of my favorites: