Show Us Your Life - China Patterns

This week's "Show Us Your Life" over @ Kelly's Korner was about china patterns - and after reading posts from a few sorority sisters, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. As a single girl, I haven't had a chance (yet!) to register for fine china (but I have picked out my pattern - the ultimate classic...what else would you expect from me?) and everyday ware, but I do LOVE dishes. I'm convinced that it's completely hereditary. My friend, Dana, and I often joke that my mother has enough dishes to entertain a small army, and no one would have to eat on paper plates.

Here in Savannah, my 'everyday' dishes are Pottery Barn knockoffs my mom found at Old Time Pottery. They're nothing fancy, but definitely serve their purpose, and since they were a bargain, if something happens to them while I'm moving around, life will go on. My dad's sisters did give me my Christmas dishes for my birthday several years ago. It's Wedgewood's 'Sarah's Garden' Christmas pattern. I don't have a complete set in terms of serving dishes, but do have 8 dinner and salad plates and 8 mugs. I think it's a lovely Christmas pattern, not too fancy, and is a great start to my dish collection.

I'm a believer that every Southern woman should have her everyday dishes and fine china, but I also love the idea of having fun dishes just because. Besides helping create wonderful tablescapes, I think certain dishes are great reminders of family and wonderful memories. One of my grandmother's cousins gave my mom her Louisville Stoneware Bachelor Button dishes. My mom even designed the dish rack on the built-in sideboard in her kitchen so they could be on display 24/7. Every time I see Fiesta ware, the first person I think of is my grandmother. She had this wonderful collection of yellow and turquoise Fiesta - and while those colors may not be the most practical, they were her absolute favorite, so I can't help but love them.

I do love dishes, and I love having a set table. But I think it's important to not get too caught up in what the table looks like, but remember who gathers around it and what happens at the table. 'Peace Meals' - the Junior League of Houston's cookbook - has a wonderful forward which includes the following quote:

"Because daily life is where Life happens. And inside the patchwork of countless ordinary moments are moments of singular extraordinary beauty, luminous instants of connection that, when we experience them, revive and restore our souls. Moments like these can happen anywhere at any time, but it is not surprising that peace so often steals over us when we are gathered together around a table breaking bread."

Breaking bread with each other is incredibly sacramental. So, the next time you sit down to eat, be it by yourself or with your family, let peace steal over you and give thanks.