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Everyday dishes. Do you like yours?

ScoutTN

By ScoutTN,
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mmasc

mmasc

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I got married 20 years ago and also didn’t register for china. Even though I love dishes, I just didn’t see the point.
 

 I dress up my (rather plain) white fiesta at thanksgiving and they look beautiful. I do have some fancy Noritake water goblets that come out at Christmas and Thanksgiving, but those were actually a gift pre-kids and my dh and I used them as everyday glasses for several years. They only became fancy occasional glasses after kids. 😂

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AngieC

AngieC

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I have Fiestaware and a bunch of Corelle that we aquired over the years and/or was given to us.  The Fiestaware dishes were meant to be for general use, but I find myself always grabbing the Corelle unless we have company.  If I had it to do over, I think I would have only gotten the Corelle.

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Emba

Emba

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I have Fiesta ware and I love it. We’ve had it 13 years and have only broken a couple of pieces. I love the colors. But it is heavy, that’s the only con I see. I supplemented with some Crate and Barrel dishes a few years ago, and they’re all either gone ( broken) or chipped now, so we ordered a few more Fiestaware plates in a different color this year.

 My mom had Corelle all my growing up years, and it is very nice too. Lighter weight, lower profile, which Can be nice. But it does break eventually. Again, much less than other sets she tried, but eventually all she had of the old set was a few salad plates and some bowls, so we bought her a new set in a pretty, more modern pattern a couple of years ago. 
 

Corelle and Fiesta ware are both good, just depends on what weight/price/pattern you prefer, I think.

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happi duck

happi duck

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I love my Christmas dishes and will often use them past Epiphany!  I was glad to discover that Candlemas, February 2, used to be the end of the Christmas season.  I hope this tidbit buys you some extra time with your Christmas dishes!

I love my everyday dishes but for sentimental reasons.  (I know that's no help!)  When I was 16 my late mom collected my dishes through a supermarket promotion.  They remind me of my mom!  A couple years ago I found a bunch of my set at Goodwill and was able to replace a few broken pieces...yay!

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cintinative

cintinative

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23 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I love my Christmas dishes and will often use them past Epiphany!  I was glad to discover that Candlemas, February 2, used to be the end of the Christmas season.  I hope this tidbit buys you some extra time with your Christmas dishes!

I love my everyday dishes but for sentimental reasons.  (I know that's no help!)  When I was 16 my late mom collected my dishes through a supermarket promotion.  They remind me of my mom!  A couple years ago I found a bunch of my set at Goodwill and was able to replace a few broken pieces...yay!

What do your Christmas and everyday dishes look like? I love seeing everyone's favorites.

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importswim

importswim

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I love mine! I went with Fiestaware because I could let each family member pick a color that they would exclusively use. We cut down on all other dishes (though we have some china put away that we get out when we have guests). It's been really helpful in cutting down clutter and knowing who has left their dish on the table. LOL! Everyone just washes their dish and puts it back in the cabinet when they're done so it's ready for next time.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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21 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I love my Christmas dishes and will often use them past Epiphany!  I was glad to discover that Candlemas, February 2, used to be the end of the Christmas season.  I hope this tidbit buys you some extra time with your Christmas dishes!

I love my everyday dishes but for sentimental reasons.  (I know that's no help!)  When I was 16 my late mom collected my dishes through a supermarket promotion.  They remind me of my mom!  A couple years ago I found a bunch of my set at Goodwill and was able to replace a few broken pieces...yay!

I love my Spode Christmas Tree dishes! My mom started a set for me when I was about 12. I thought they were dumb and boring, but smiled to make mom happy. By the time I was 18, I was truly glad to have them! I need to replace a few of the salad plates before next year.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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3 minutes ago, importswim said:

I love mine! I went with Fiestaware because I could let each family member pick a color that they would exclusively use. We cut down on all other dishes (though we have some china put away that we get out when we have guests). It's been really helpful in cutting down clutter and knowing who has left their dish on the table. LOL! Everyone just washes their dish and puts it back in the cabinet when they're done so it's ready for next time.

This is genius! 

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importswim

importswim

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6 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

So do you not have random people show up for meals? I go from 2-8 on a regular basis. I rarely know how many people I am feeding. I make hug meals as I don't know who will be here. If it's just a few, we have leftovers. 

During haying or branding, I can have 14+.

If we do I just use our china plates. It's very rare that we have people drop by especially unannounced. That may be common where you are, but it's very uncommon here (based on my informal thinking about our area and people that I know, HA HA HA!)

We "school" during the day or are out of the house so both of those mean we're by ourselves and DH travels and is not at home a lot. If I had a situation like you have then the set up I have now wouldn't work for it. For our situation, though, it works wonders!

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importswim

importswim

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2 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

No way would I be having hired men using china! I never know if dd and her bf will be here, or if the bf's helper will be around. I don't feed the big hay crews I used to (mechanized now) but it's not unusual to find out at 8:00 am that I'll be feeding 10 people. It was actually kind of nice at Christmas to only have 8. When all the SOs, fiancées, and husbands are here, we start at 12. 

That sounds really fun!!! I definitely wouldn't have them use china in that situation either.

I'm not sure if you thought I was implying that YOU should do what we do. I certainly wasn't! Obviously, that wouldn't work in your situation but it works really well for us. 😉

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popmom

popmom

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4 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

 

 

Eta: I have and use a set of good, white china that we received when we got married. But it can't go in the microwave or dishwasher and isn't practical for everyday use.

 

Does the china have any metal on it--platinum or gold? If not, it can absolutely go in the dishwasher and microwave. I've been using mine everyday for over 25 years. It still looks new. Bone china is super durable, so it's a good investment if you can swing it. The only thing I dislike about it is that it's kinda noisy when putting it away. Corelle is quieter. 

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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23 minutes ago, popmom said:

Does the china have any metal on it--platinum or gold? If not, it can absolutely go in the dishwasher and microwave. I've been using mine everyday for over 25 years. It still looks new. Bone china is super durable, so it's a good investment if you can swing it. The only thing I dislike about it is that it's kinda noisy when putting it away. Corelle is quieter. 

Yes, platinum. 

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easypeasy

easypeasy

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13 hours ago, mmasc said:

I’m just popping in again to say I love all of these replies! I look up everyone’s dishes that they mention bc I truly adore dishes! @easypeasy I’d love to see the white you’ve picked out! I, too, went with fiesta ware a few years ago bc I was looking for made in the USA (and I wanted white). I don’t remember having many choices, though, so I’d be curious about the ones you found.

I also really like those Mikasa French Countryside that many of you have.

I'm torn between both of these. To my knowledge, Lenox is still made in USA. If they're not, there are some Kate Spade sets I like that are definitely made in the USA that I'd be willing to switch to.

I haven't ordered yet because I'm also considering just ordering all-white Fiestaware... but I wanted something a little more dainty after so many years with Fiestaware... but I love the idea of all-white Fiestaware stacked up. So, I dunno. lol

OK, the first one (Lenox Butterfly Meadow) definitely isn't all-white. But it's soooooo pretty!!!!

https://www.lenox.com/collections/dinnerware-sets/products/butterfly-meadow-r-18-piece-dinnerware-set

or this one (Lenox French Perle Bead White), which I think is more of a creamy white instead of a bright white - but I'm ok with that. It suits my tranquil mood when I look at it. Although, I don't think it's any more "dainty" than the Fiestaware since it is also stoneware, lol! 🙂

https://www.lenox.com/collections/dinnerware-sets/products/bbb-french-perle-bead-white-dw-16pc-set

Edited by easypeasy
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popmom

popmom

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wow. I feel so old. This article is from 2009. This is so sad to me. I love, love, love china, I have 3 sets. One casual that I mentioned above, and 2 formal sets. One is a set of Lenox that was my formal wedding china, and the other is a set of Noritake that I inherited from my MIL. I adore all of my china. I opted to register for the less expensive Gorham crystal (but at least it's still real crystal circa 1992) because my friends--I could tell thought I was a little uppity for registering for both formal and casual china. But y'all, to think that Waterford crystal would no longer be what it has been historically. Or Wedgwood or Royal Doulton.  I feel like this is just one of many signs of the coarsening of society. 😞

We need a resurgence of formal dining. It's not that hard people!! 😭

Sorry. Back on topic.

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Serenade

Serenade

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13 minutes ago, popmom said:

wow. I feel so old. This article is from 2009. This is so sad to me. I love, love, love china, I have 3 sets. One casual that I mentioned above, and 2 formal sets. One is a set of Lenox that was my formal wedding china, and the other is a set of Noritake that I inherited from my MIL. I adore all of my china. I opted to register for the less expensive Gorham crystal (but at least it's still real crystal circa 1992) because my friends--I could tell thought I was a little uppity for registering for both formal and casual china. But y'all, to think that Waterford crystal would no longer be what it has been historically. Or Wedgwood or Royal Doulton.  I feel like this is just one of many signs of the coarsening of society. 😞

We need a resurgence of formal dining. It's not that hard people!! 😭

Sorry. Back on topic.

I agree, so sad, and I feel so old.  I love my china.  The pattern I registered for was Wedgewood Palatia, and my crystal pattern is Waterford Kildare.  Just a few days ago for Christmas my table was set with with these beauties, and I didn't even mind hand washing them because they are so beautiful.   They make me happy.  I guess I can understand why people don't want to bother with fine china anymore.  It's not even just the fine china, but it's the work of having a formal meal.  You have to enjoy preparing it, serving it, and cleaning up.  I'm lucky in that my husband enjoys making fine meals, too.  If he didn't share the load of a holiday meal, I probably wouldn't do it all by myself, either. 

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mmasc

mmasc

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@easypeasy wow! I can see your dilemma—those sets are both gorgeous! I LOVE that butterfly set! If you went all white, I can see how the Lenox is more dainty than fiestaware, even though it’s stoneware. I don’t think you’ll regret any of the ones you’re considering! Report back when you choose 😁

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Laurie

Laurie

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14 hours ago, easypeasy said:

I'm torn between both of these. To my knowledge, Lenox is still made in USA. If they're not, there are some Kate Spade sets I like that are definitely made in the USA that I'd be willing to switch to.

I haven't ordered yet because I'm also considering just ordering all-white Fiestaware... but I wanted something a little more dainty after so many years with Fiestaware... but I love the idea of all-white Fiestaware stacked up. So, I dunno. lol

OK, the first one (Lenox Butterfly Meadow) definitely isn't all-white. But it's soooooo pretty!!!!

https://www.lenox.com/collections/dinnerware-sets/products/butterfly-meadow-r-18-piece-dinnerware-set

or this one (Lenox French Perle Bead White), which I think is more of a creamy white instead of a bright white - but I'm ok with that. It suits my tranquil mood when I look at it. Although, I don't think it's any more "dainty" than the Fiestaware since it is also stoneware, lol! 🙂

https://www.lenox.com/collections/dinnerware-sets/products/bbb-french-perle-bead-white-dw-16pc-set

I have Lenox casual china.   My pattern has been discontinued, but I chose it for the same "dainty" reason as you!  I also have two different sets of melamine dishes (4 place settings each) that we use for lunch...one is Butterfly Meadow and it's so cheerful and pretty!

I looked at your link to French Perle Bead.   It's pretty,  but I think it would bug me to drink out of the mugs because of the beading.   

Have fun making your choice!

(Just adding that Lenox isn't all made in the USA...I've seen "imported" in the descriptions)

 

 

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SKL

SKL

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Corelle seems to meet the requirements of looking nice enough and being sturdy enough.

Personally my everyday dishes are a combination of leftovers from so many different "sets."  Some of them donated to us when we were in grad school, some gotten in those free grocery promotions, some left in the cupboards when we bought our house 25 years ago, and some purchased randomly when on sale (not as a set).  We also don't have matching cups or glasses.  I wonder if there are people who notice or care when we host?  😛

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easypeasy

easypeasy

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11 hours ago, Laurie said:

I have Lenox casual china.   My pattern has been discontinued, but I chose it for the same "dainty" reason as you!  I also have two different sets of melamine dishes (4 place settings each) that we use for lunch...one is Butterfly Meadow and it's so cheerful and pretty!

I looked at your link to French Perle Bead.   It's pretty,  but I think it would bug me to drink out of the mugs because of the beading.   

Have fun making your choice!

(Just adding that Lenox isn't all made in the USA...I've seen "imported" in the descriptions)

 

 

I had the EXACT same thought as you about the mugs BUT, in our house, those mugs won't ever be used. All our "pretty mugs" are shoved to the very back of the cabinets because everyone in the family has been gifted all these goofy, fun mugs they prefer to use. 😅 I have probably twenty Fiestaware mugs crammed into all those hard-to-get-to nooks and crannies in our kitchen cabinets. 🤣

I know the Butterfly Meadow is carried locally, so I'm hoping that once Covid is less nightmarish in our state/city I can go take a peek and maybe they'll have the Perle Bead too so I can see it in person.

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easypeasy

easypeasy

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11 hours ago, SKL said:

Personally my everyday dishes are a combination of leftovers from so many different "sets."  Some of them donated to us when we were in grad school, some gotten in those free grocery promotions, some left in the cupboards when we bought our house 25 years ago, and some purchased randomly when on sale (not as a set).  We also don't have matching cups or glasses.  I wonder if there are people who notice or care when we host?  😛

If I had the patience, I would want a mismatched, all-white set of dishes. A tea house near uses all mismatched china/porcelain - different colors and patterns - for their table settings and it's SO STINKING CUTE!

(and I promise, no one really cares if your dishes match or not. And if they DO care, that's on them. I have pretty dishes and love a pretty table setting and no one in my family even notices. lol)

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Blossom'sGirl

Blossom'sGirl

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I just replaced all my older, fading mismatched Corelle with a new set of Corelle called Bella Faenza.  The plates are white but have a pretty sculpted design around the perimeter.  The pattern doesn't come in small plates, so I picked up some plain white ones at a Corelle outlet.  I bought two sets at Target because they sell them without the Chinese made mugs.  I prefer Fiestaware mugs.   I originally thought I wanted Fiestaware plates until we stayed at a rental house that had them.  Way to heavy for me.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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Still undecided. I’m 54 and too old to buy stuff I dislike. I probably don’t have budget or space for Fiesta ware, though I love the look of a multitude of colors. 

We may be using my Christmas dishes well into 2021 because we have a dog with an injured disc. Big vet bills. No time or money to spare right now.

I am thinking that when the virus subsides, I’ll shop thrift to see what treasures I can find. I do like the mismatched, all white china idea that a pp mentioned, but that takes a while to collect. 

I don’t need mugs or coffee cups/saucers. Just dinner plates, salad plates and some bowls. Ice cream/cereal bowls and some smaller ones. I do love the variety of Fiestaware bowls.

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Pam in CT

Pam in CT

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We are very spoiled because my large-gathering loving grandmother had a kiln and different sized casts and MADE dinnerware, gajillions of them, for which she had an entire ROOM in her basement lined with shelves, and which we divided amongst the cousins when she died.  I have ~10 celadon green and 12 sky blue dinner plates she made that we use for every day (as well as several more sets of smaller lunch-sized)... and there's nothing (in the BeforeTimes) I love more than going to a cousin's house and seeing others that she made in other colors. One cousin has another ~10 of the celadon ones we have and I love seeing the "friends," LOL.

I also have a very large set -- I think ~24 -- of plain creamy-white ones from Pier 1; and a set of 8 cheery yellow picnic-plastic ones that were the go-to when the kids were little and which have held up so well, and are such a sunny color, that I keep them even though they're long past that stage.

Between those four colors I can work with just about any tablecloth.  (Although I sometimes do pine for elegant sleek black ones, like, for example, on New Years Eve.)

 

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livetoread

livetoread

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10 hours ago, easypeasy said:

If I had the patience, I would want a mismatched, all-white set of dishes. A tea house near uses all mismatched china/porcelain - different colors and patterns - for their table settings and it's SO STINKING CUTE!

(and I promise, no one really cares if your dishes match or not. And if they DO care, that's on them. I have pretty dishes and love a pretty table setting and no one in my family even notices. lol)

I like that look, and so I bought a bunch of mismatched china salad plates. They don't cost much used, and I use my French Countryside white dinner plates with the cute salad plate on top. Paired with crystal and pastel linens, it looks like I'm ready for high tea, lol. 

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Laurie

Laurie

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2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

 
We may be using my Christmas dishes well into 2021 because we have a dog with an injured disc. Big vet bills. No time or money to spare right now.

I am thinking that when the virus subsides, I’ll shop thrift to see what treasures I can find. I do like the mismatched, all white china idea that a pp mentioned, but that takes a while to collect. 

 

I'm sorry about your dog!  I hope he/she heals quickly.   

If you decide to go with the mismatched china, I wonder how the plates will hold up when you're stacking them in your cupboard.  I'd be worried about getting chipped plates if they don't stack up neatly on top of each other.  

Maybe you can find an estate sale and get a complete set instead? 

 

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mmasc

mmasc

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3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Still undecided. I’m 54 and too old to buy stuff I dislike. I probably don’t have budget or space for Fiesta ware, though I love the look of a multitude of colors. 

We may be using my Christmas dishes well into 2021 because we have a dog with an injured disc. Big vet bills. No time or money to spare right now.

I am thinking that when the virus subsides, I’ll shop thrift to see what treasures I can find. I do like the mismatched, all white china idea that a pp mentioned, but that takes a while to collect. 

I don’t need mugs or coffee cups/saucers. Just dinner plates, salad plates and some bowls. Ice cream/cereal bowls and some smaller ones. I do love the variety of Fiestaware bowls.

I’m so sorry about your dog! I hope your pup feels better soon. 
 

I love these dishes, even though I don’t have them. I think they’re so pretty! They are much more affordable than fiesta ware too, and get really great reviews. No cups or saucers either 👍🏼

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math teacher

math teacher

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I have a set that Brookshire's used as a promotion many years ago. The plates are white stoneware, and there are blue and pinkish flowers around the edge. I had nearly the entire set including the teapot and spoonrest. I still have most of the dishes, but the only accessory piece I have is a utensil holder my sister found in a used store. I love this set. I also have some other stoneware that dh picked up somewhere because we really didn't have enough dishes.

I think I would like to convert to Fiesta, and I must have some Spode Christmas dishes soon.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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23 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I’m so sorry about your dog! I hope your pup feels better soon. 
 

I love these dishes, even though I don’t have them. I think they’re so pretty! They are much more affordable than fiesta ware too, and get really great reviews. No cups or saucers either 👍🏼

These might be perfect!! Thank you so much! 

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Shoeless

Shoeless

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I have a set of all white dishes that I got at an estate sale for $7: Oneida Stoneware in White Wicker. They are kind of heavy, but for $7 I couldn't complain.  Estate sales are sometimes a budget friendly option for dishes. They are heavy and not in high demand because everyone already has every day dishes at home, so they are usually priced very cheap.  The only exception to that is Corelle. Everyone wants Corelle, lol.  (I do, too. I wish I had not left my Corelle behind with my ex). 

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Carol in Cal.

Carol in Cal.

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To me, Corelle and Fiestaware are two sides of the same problem—weight that doesn’t feel right.  Corelle to me feels so light it is like plastic.  Fiestaware, like other stone ware, is too thick to fit well in my cabinets and too heavy to be all that practical at the table.

When I was a young adult I fell in love with Pfalzgraf, not because I really liked it but because it had so many, many ‘special’ pieces.  I didn’t really want to be stuck with just blue, and it was awfully heavy, but those pieces!  I never really got started on it, because for the first couple of years I was out of college, I had a roommate that had all that stuff and we agreed to use hers.  When I finally got my own apartment, my mom pointed out a white set on sale for 50% off at Macy’s and I bought them even though I never liked them, because I needed something quick, and I figured white goes with everything.  It was a start, and even though there were not nice serving pieces with it, I could buy white ones from Cost Plus and it looked OK.  That kind of set the stage for where I landed now, almost 40 (!) years later.

My everyday wear is a mishmash of white stuff I got second hand or at Cost Plus or IKEA, plus little sets of salad plates or bowls or mugs with patterns I like that I have pieced together from here and there, mostly thrifted.  

If I were to buy some, I really like Portmerion Country Garden a lot, or there is this very simple, elegant French pattern that is ovoid—the dinner and salad plates are oval instead of round, and the serving ware is elongated as well.  It is creamy white with a buff/gray rim, and I just love it.  But honestly I can’t really justify the expense of that for some reason.  Every time I think about it, I decide not to pull the trigger.

But we do have some Christmas dishes—years ago a family member gave us one piece of Spode Christmas Tree, mostly because it was at Ross, and I thought I’d better go to Macy’s and see whether this is even a pattern I would pick, since I had never looked at Christmas dishes.  I studied every single Christmas pattern they had, and ended up deciding that Spode was my favorite, which was nice.  Over the years we have gotten more of it, and we really enjoy that festive feel of using it, especially the highball glasses, which are great for drinking water.

And I grew up in an extended family that had formal China and silver out for holiday meals, so I’m used to that.  We did register for gorgeous Wedgewood bone china, and although we don’t use it often, we love it when we do.  Maybe that’s why the mismatched, cheap everyday ware doesn’t bother me.  Even though we don’t use our China or Christmas dishes very much, they satisfy that yen for something nice.  I don’t need it all the time, I guess.

Edited by Carol in Cal.
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Shoeless

Shoeless

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54 minutes ago, cintinative said:

@MissLemon how do you usually find out about estate sales? Craigslist? 

I find out about sales on estatesales.net.  You can search by zipcode.  Some of the listings will be for auctions and others are for more typical estate sales that are held at a house. 

Auctions are fun to attend. It's not all high end, expensive stuff at the auctions, either. I'm sure it varies by area, but most sales I've been to by me are auctions of regular household items. I've gotten some great stuff for very little that way. 

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easypeasy

easypeasy

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Posted (edited)
16 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Still undecided. I’m 54 and too old to buy stuff I dislike. I probably don’t have budget or space for Fiesta ware, though I love the look of a multitude of colors. 

We may be using my Christmas dishes well into 2021 because we have a dog with an injured disc. Big vet bills. No time or money to spare right now.

I am thinking that when the virus subsides, I’ll shop thrift to see what treasures I can find. I do like the mismatched, all white china idea that a pp mentioned, but that takes a while to collect. 

I don’t need mugs or coffee cups/saucers. Just dinner plates, salad plates and some bowls. Ice cream/cereal bowls and some smaller ones. I do love the variety of Fiestaware bowls.

There are TONS of sales for Fiestaware - might be more in your budget than you're imagining!!! I don't think I've ever paid anywhere near full price! My Fiestaware collection was built relatively inexpensively. Department stores frequently have huge Fiestaware sales. Amazon is another good source for heavily discounted FW. (especially for someone like me, who has ALL the colors. Often, Amazon will list 5 colors at/near full price, but 2 colors are super-cheap. I'll scoop up that super-cheap one happily!)

Edited by easypeasy
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KungFuPanda

KungFuPanda

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16 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

To me, Corelle and Fiestaware are two sides of the same problem—weight that doesn’t feel right.  Corelle to me feels so light it is like plastic.  Fiestaware, like other stone ware, is too thick to fit well in my cabinets and too heavy to be all that practical at the table.

When I was a young adult I fell in love with Pfalzgraf, not because I really liked it but because it had so many, many ‘special’ pieces.  I didn’t really want to be stuck with just blue, and it was awfully heavy, but those pieces!  I never really got started on it, because for the first couple of years I was out of college, I had a roommate that had all that stuff and we agreed to use hers.  When I finally got my own apartment, my mom pointed out a white set on sale for 50% off at Macy’s and I bought them even though I never liked them, because I needed something quick, and I figured white goes with everything.  It was a start, and even though there were not nice serving pieces with it, I could buy white ones from Cost Plus and it looked OK.  That kind of set the stage for where I landed now, almost 40 (!) years later.

My everyday wear is a mishmash of white stuff I got second hand or at Cost Plus or IKEA, plus little sets of salad plates or bowls or mugs with patterns I like that I have pieced together from here and there, mostly thrifted.  

If I were to buy some, I really like Portmerion Country Garden a lot, or there is this very simple, elegant French pattern that is ovoid—the dinner and salad plates are oval instead of round, and the serving ware is elongated as well.  It is creamy white with a buff/gray rim, and I just love it.  But honestly I can’t really justify the expense of that for some reason.  Every time I think about it, I decide not to pull the trigger.

But we do have some Christmas dishes—years ago a family member gave us one piece of Spode Christmas Tree, mostly because it was at Ross, and I thought I’d better go to Macy’s and see whether this is even a pattern I would pick, since I had never looked at Christmas dishes.  I studied every single Christmas pattern they had, and ended up deciding that Spode was my favorite, which was nice.  Over the years we have gotten more of it, and we really enjoy that festive feel of using it, especially the highball glasses, which are great for drinking water.

And I grew up in an extended family that had formal China and silver out for holiday meals, so I’m used to that.  We did register for gorgeous Wedgewood bone china, and although we don’t use it often, we love it when we do.  Maybe that’s why the mismatched, cheap everyday ware doesn’t bother me.  Even though we don’t use our China or Christmas dishes very much, they satisfy that yen for something nice.  I don’t need it all the time, I guess.

How does actual china feel to you? It’s also really light, so I’m not sure lightweight = plastic. 

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