Great Lovers Wine Glasses...This Week's Find

Prepare yourself to be wowed. I mean it. This week I brought home my mother’s collection of “Great Lovers” wine glasses. At least that’s what we called them. Officially they are Maurus Gallo Pewter Toasting Cups featuring Beauty and the Beast, Romeo and Juliet, and a Renaissance Wedding couple. Each pair locks hands when put together. I don’t remember where they were purchased despite the fact that I was with her at the time, but it was some time during the 1980s. They are made from pewter and spun silver and each holds 4 ounces of liquid. They certainly draw gasps from guests when they see how they go together.

My mother would use these for very special dinners, or ones that she would serve around Valentine’s Day. Naturally, the female guest would get the female lover cup, the male guest, the male lover cup; they would be put together between place settings.

I honestly don’t know how many times I will use these, but I need to find a place to put at least one pair of these on display. Truly magnificent!

FAVORITE CUPBOARD - A View into my Kitchen

Okay, I confess, I love looking into other people's houses.  It's not because I hope to catch someone, errr, off-guard, but because I want to get a look at how they've decorated their homes and to peer inside their kitchens.  Since the kitchen is the heart of the home, I always like to see just how people use it.  I can always tell when a cook is in residence, or whether the family prefers fast food or dining out.

So today I'm joining SHELIA of  NOTE SONGS

who is hosting a

FAVORITE CUPBOARD PARTY

 and I'll be giving you a slight glimpse of what our kitchen holds.

This cupboard actually belongs to my husband.  He bought it years ago (read: before we were married) at a garage sale, and since he is able to scope out a real bargain, I suspect he got it for a very reasonable price. It fits perfectly on this wall in our kitchen and, since our house is 119-years-old, storage is at a premium.  This holds a ton of stuff, and I like the glass doors allowing people a glimpse of what I happen to have on display at the time.  Some of these items have actually changed since the picture was taken.

I love being greeted by bright colors in the morning.  The Fiestaware is always fun.  Every color complements very well with the blue and white Nikko "Tea Rose" patterned plates standing up along the back.  I can get a lot of different looks interchanging various plates including the dark green Portugal Majolica plates visible just beneath the stacked bowls.

Some of my favorite items are contained in this cupboard: the yellow chalices, the pewter fish pitcher, and the only piece of "Walking Ware" that I own, purchased on a trip to England.  I was glad to get it home with both feet in tact!

These are not visible in the photos above, but there is quite a story connected with them.  It was earlier in the winter, I was freezing cold, we'd been running errands all day long and I just flat out refused to get out of the car again until we got home. Jim wanted to stop at TJ Maxx, but I told him that I'd wait in the car. I needed nothing...NOTHING at all from TJ Maxx. In the past, you see, every time I've needed nothing I'm come away with something (sometimes a LOT of something), and he knows this. He told me it was too cold to wait in the car (yes 15 degrees probably was too cold) so I had to go in. 
So I went in and didn't even get a basket because I knew I wasn't going to buy anything. But then I saw these. These Dario Farucci bowls for...wait for it... a dollar each. A DOLLAR. ONE! EACH! Now come on! I couldn't pass these up, could I? I mean let's face it, a package of Chinet bowls would run about the same and you'd toss them after using. These were just so festive, and so perfect, and go so well with my Fiestaware that I HAD to get them. Had to! Can you blame me? 
Once I made this decision I went ahead and got a basket and ended up with 4 of these bowls, a couple of pairs of warm "Made in Vermont" socks  (I love those -- Vermonters...Vermontians? really know their socks), and a Rice and Rissotto cookbook. All of this was around $10, and guess what? Jim even paid!  Oh, and the next day I went back and bought the four remaining bowls so I have service for 8.  I guess it was a good thing that I got out of the car.


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