~Right Under My Nose~

A few posts back, I shared with you my new pieces of ironstone that I recently added to my collection.  As a footnote, I said that I was looking for a small soup tureen and this is why...

This is the little coffee station area next to the kitchen stove.  I love using my ironstone for daily use...one sugar bowl for sugar and one for sweetener, and the spoon rest for the stirring spoon.  I used to have a salt/pepper shaker set here but the cork stoppers kept falling inside!

Anyway.  You see the lovely hot chocolate container in the background?  Adds to the decor, doesn't it?  I can't drink straight black coffee (even with cream and sugar) but rather am more of a flavored-coffee drinker and found that adding hot chocolate mix is just the fix I need.  So this container sits on the counter every day.  Very convenient but not very pretty.

Well, now look at what's in it's place!  A cute little tureen.  Maybe for veggies?  I don't know.  So petite with lovely lines and details.  And guess what? I didn't have to go shopping for it. Nope. I already had it!! 

Last week, I was scouting around, in the cabinet I use to house my ironstone collection, for something to use in my fall decorating.  Lo and behold, back in the corner of the top shelf I found this little beauty.  I had forgotten all about it.  But, apparently, the image of it was still in the recesses of my mind because this is EXACTLY what I was looking for.  What a knucklehead I am! :/  If I had just looked at the pictures in the post I did about my collection, I would have seen it there!!

It's been right under my nose the entire time.  I couldn't believe it.  I grabbed one of my beautiful, vintage soup spoons to use for scooping and now I have something lovely to store my hot chocolate mix.  Even Mr. Bill noticed the change and commented on how much better the service area looks now.  I agree.

 

Today is an absolutely beautiful day...fresh, clean, lots of sunshine and muddy.  We had a torrential downpour yesterday and received four inches of much needed moisture.  We haven't received this much rain, at one time, in a long, long time.  So we don't mind a bit of muddiness.  We are thankful.  I pray that today has been a wonderful day for you as well.

 

Blessings~

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~Oh, For the Love of Ironstone~

Every once in a while, I like to get out and do some treasure hunting.  Antique stores, thrift stores, whatever. Sometimes I find something, sometimes I don't.  It's good therapy. :)  The other day I stopped by a local secondhand store to browse.  I hadn't been there in a really long time as there's usually not too much I can find there.  Yesterday, I went to the Habitat store while my dog was being groomed.  A good way to kill time, right?  Well, I found some treasures in both places!  Plus, I got them at really good prices.  Double bonus!

 One of my most treasured collections involves ironstone.  I love the color and the crazing.  I especially love the "Virginia Rose" type pattern from Homer Laughlin but, since they are hard to find, I look for any pieces that are similar in design.

 I found these pieces when I was out treasure hunting.  I'm in love and I'm ecstatic.  My, oh my!  Ironstone reminds me so much of farmhouse kitchens.  If it could be a comfort food, this would fit in that category.  That's what it does for me.  It makes my heart go pitter-patter.

I found an unmarked platter. I already have several.  But who's counting?  This ironstone bowl has K.T.&K. Stone China on the bottom.  It's heavy and solid with scalloped edges and lots of crazing.  I already have a monstrous ironstone bowl that is about 15 inches across but it's hard to know what to do with one so large.  This one is a tad smaller at about 11 inches.  Perfect!

This is a stack of eight Homer Laughlin plates.  I almost did the happy dance at the Habitat store when I saw them in the glass case!  Not one, not two but eight plates!!  I was so excited that I almost forgot to do some bargaining.  What was I thinking?!?!?

They were marked $20 for the set and, at first, I thought something might be wrong with a few of the plates.  When the lady took them out for me to look at, she almost apologized for the discoloration and said they were rather worn.  Also, since they had been sitting for a while, she dropped the price to $15.  I almost choked!!  Poor lady.  She must have thought I had lost my mind at wanting to take something in such sad condition.  But I pulled myself together, put on my "look of contemplation" and said I'd take them. Be still my heart!!

Today, I started pulling out some of my fall decorations.  Finally.  The temps here are still in the 90s and it's hard to start decorating for Autumn even though I am SO ready for it in my heart!  It's my most favorite season of the year.

The stark contrast of the ironstone against the reds, browns and dark oranges of autumn is so lovely, don't you think?

I got these rustic-appearing apples at HL last year.  I think I'll use them in my new bowl to display on the dining table.

I cleared away the faux garlands to see what the display would look like, but I rather like my bowl being nestled in the fall colors.  I think I'll put some of them back on the table.

The new platter and plates are in my display cabinet now.  Several of my ironstone pitchers are still on the fireplace mantel where they will stay for a while longer.  If you're interested, you can read more about my ironstone collection here.

I'm sharing my simple love of ironstone with Elaine over at Sunny Simple Life.  Now I need to get busy and start decorating for Autumn!!

 
Note:  I forgot to mention that one thing I am looking for to add to my ironstone collection is possibly a small soup tureen or something like a canister with a lid to store the hot chocolate mix I add to my morning coffee.  So, if you see one and YOU don't want it, I'd be pleased as punch if you'd give me a heads up about it ;)

~My Collection of Ironstone~

Many, many years ago a friend of mine was having a yard sale.  I spotted a stack of very simple, ironstone plates that I fell in love with and bought them for $1 a piece.

I knew nothing about ironstone.  I knew nothing about Homer Laughlin.  I just knew I loved those plates not knowing what I would do with them and so they were stored in a kitchen cabinet...never used...collecting a little dust...waiting for the day that I would learn about more about ironstone, more about Homer Laughlin and the day finally came when I knew that I wanted to start collecting it.

So I would slowly begin my search finding a piece here and finding a piece there.  Some would be found in antique stores and some on eBay.

I realized that this particular pattern was hard to find and so I started adding other pieces that had a similar scroll type design or just because I loved the piece.  I had and still don't have any rhyme or reason as to why I buy a piece.

Maybe it's because I know that our lives are imperfect and I find comfort with the imperfect pieces that I find. I especially love the cracked glazing and slightly tinged staining that occurs in some pieces.

This particular piece is from Johnson Brothers.  It's almost too perfect and too white but what I loved about this piece was the intricate scroll design.

 

Two totally different styles.  One is slightly yellowed and aged.  The other looks more pristine.  But that doesn't matter.  What matters is that I like them and that's okay.

I found serving bowls and I found a couple of plates though a bit smaller than my original four plates.

I then got on a kick and found a few pitchers....

a few creamers, a couple of sugar bowls that I have on my kitchen counter for sugar and sweetener....

and some platters.  This beautiful little oblong piece, I believe, is used for serving relishes, pickles, etc.  I could be wrong on that though.  I've only been able to find this one piece.

The very simple, clean design of this pitcher was one of those "had to have" pieces.  I can envision cold milk or buttermilk (yuk!) being served on a farm table a time or two.

After our house was built, I found this antique cabinet and knew that this is where my ironstone was meant to be stored.  It fit perfectly between the two windows in my dining room and I had my wonderful son-in-law hang it for me.

  

While on the hunt for my loved collection, I realized what drew me to this simple but delicate, off-white style of ironstone.  It reminded me of farmhouses.  Homes where practicality and simple, yet sturdy pieces determined what was used day to day.  My style would be what you would call shabby farmhouse style.  My new house is even built to resemble an old farmhouse...I'll have to show it to you sometime!

I have no idea how old these dishes are and I don't really care although my heart tells me that I hope that they are REALLY old!  I love the fact that I can use them and I do use mostly the serving bowls and platters.

When I had my bed and breakfast a few years ago, these were the dishes that I used to serve my guests.  Now that's a story (or probably many stories) that I'll have to share with you at another time.  For now, I hope you've enjoyed the little tour of my beloved collection of ironstone and why I have the pieces that I do.

I pray that you have a beautiful day ~