Christmas in May

There is nothing like finding a bargain that you can't pass up.

The other day I was walking through a specialty store here in town and noticed they were having their semi-annual sale. Anytime this store has this sale, I can expect to fill up my Christmas closet with all kinds of gems that would make wonderful holiday gifts for adult family members. My only disadvantage was that little Gus was with me and he has the male mind when it comes to shopping: Mom, why are we here and when will we be leaving. I explained to Gus that I just wanted to have a short look around and that we would not be too long. Gus moaned and groaned a bit, but finally entertained himself with some of the items around him. Plus I bribed him with candy (shameful, I know. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do!)

Not long after that, I found them. Simple. Elegant. Colorful. And the right price: $1.99 a piece.

Dinner Plates.

I have been looking for dinner plates for my kitchen for about three years. The ones I currently have have massive chips on them. The corresponding bowls have been long lost....probably used for boy science experiments or bug collecting. Same with my salad plates...I have no idea where those went. So, long story short, I needed some new dinner plates and found them on a whim. I was so excited to see stacks of these plates in various sizes and colors but hesitated in purchasing them since there is always something more important I should be spending my money on. I justified my decision by telling myself that I could return them later if they did not work. Yeah, well, they worked all right. I bought 14 plates: 7 cobalt blue, 7 mustard yellow = 14 dinner plates for the Clemens family. I also bought cereal bowls, mugs, and salad plates. They are sooo pretty. Makes me want to cook more! (really!)

One of the benefits of buying new things for the kitchen is that you must clean out the old cabinets in order to make room for the new things. I organized my dish cabinet, which in turn made me clean out my pots and pans cabinet, which dominoed into creating new storage space for my long-lost tupperware containers ( which are now being put to good use ) and finally helped me to throw out mounds of un-used Gladware tops. ( I had NO idea how many un-matched Gladware/plastic container tops I had.) I was able to organize all my Corningware with their original glass tops and put them in accessible spots in my kitchen. Last but not least, I laid my old dishes to rest in three very sturdy bags that went to a friend who said she would put them to good use. I also gave away old plastic novelty children's dishes along with mugs and mis-matched glassware. I tell you all...when you re-organize like I did, it's like you have a WHOLE kitchen of new dishes. Try it! It works!

When my husband returned from Idaho, I was a bit concerned with what his reaction to my little dish spree would be. At first he was like, "HOW MUCH?" But then I SHOWED him how nice and organized everything was and then he was mildly happy. "Well, I guess we did need them", he said. Merry Christmas to me!