Friday, February 19, 2010

On a Pink Mission



Five years ago this weekend a young couple exchanged wedding vows. The bride's gown was made of tulle in whisper pink, the groom's tie was fine pink silk, and the wedding cake was a tower of pink and brown polka dots.




Yes, this young bride, my niece, does love pink! And the poor dear also suffers from the same "dish" affliction as her auntie. As she says, "It must be genetic!" So when I saw these heart shaped dishes in pink and brown with heart polka dots, I knew just who would appreciate a set.




I found these in 2007 being sold in a local grocery store for Valentine's Day. The availability in each store was limited with only a few pieces at various stores in the area, but I wasn't going to let that foil the plan. If one store received only the polka dot plates, another the stripe plates, and yet another the cups, well, then I'd simply track them down.



I admit it turned into a "mission" of sorts. but after phone calls to a list of stores in the metro area, I managed to locate all the various pieces. I could envision how cute it would be to mix and match these.



"Mission Accomplished"

Well, let's just say I "travel" great lengths when dishes are involved. And preserving pays off.




One store even offered these heart shaped ramekins to mix with the plates and cups; all of which were marked Blackhawk Marketing LLC.



There are so many uses for these little jewels, and they fit perfectly on the heart shaped salad or dessert plates.



Then by chance, I found two of these little pink and brown tidbit plates by Department 56. The photo color is off, but these rectangular plates are actually the same pink glaze used on the hearts. One is just a bit more intense than the other. Simply a "delectable" find to go along with those sweet pink and brown dishes.




In fact I found all these pink and brown ceramics so "delectable", I kept a set for myself. In the photo above you can see I used them as the dessert service for a dinner party that February. Dessert was mini chocolate heart cakes with fresh whipped cream and raspberries. I wish my photo was more interesting, but it was taken in 2007 before I knew what kind of photographs are expected of bloggers. LOL



As originally intended, a complete set was wrapped in love and given to my niece, the pretty young bride in pink. I think she uses her mugs and plates often.



I usually just use mine during February along with this pink cup I received as a valentine gift from a student in 2006. I like to use it as a container for a small plant and mix it among my valentine decorations. It fits in perfectly with the group of pink and brown stripes and polka dots.



The cup is from Starbucks and features 

delicate script around the inner rim 

and within a heart on the front.



And this sweet little 

"love" heart is tied to the handle. 

How special is that?




This year I serendipitously received 

these two larger heart shaped bowls 

as a valentine gift from a student.





They are perfect for morning cereal, 

hot oatmeal, or a tasty soup. 

 They also fit perfectly into the mix!


Happy 5th Anniversary, Sam and Michael

and

Happy Pink Saturday to All


Last week Nerina @ Nicnacmanic, a Bit of This, a Bit of That shared the most fantastic assortment of Love Cuisine. Be sure to stop by Nerina's for a visit if you missed her post last week. And for more pink goodies visit Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound.




Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

50 comments:

  1. That pink and polka dot china is so precious! Who wouldn't love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is just to sweet. Now when dishes are involved there is no mountain too high to climb to find them. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love all the dishes-well worth the trouble you went to track them down!
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just love the pink with the brown - simply gorgeous! Linda

    ReplyDelete
  5. G'eve, Sarah ~ I LOVE everything, immensely. I LOVE best the heart pink cup. What a fun colorful wedding.

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Hugs, Marydon

    ReplyDelete
  6. THose dishes are just great. I love pink and brown together. It's nice to have neices to share this fun stuff. You are very lucky to have something in common to share.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh Sarah! Those dishes are all so adorable!! What a wonderful Aunt you are! Do you need another niece? LOL These are just to cute!!

    Have a wonderful PS!

    ReplyDelete
  8. How great to have an Aunt like you Sarah! I just love pink and brown together! I just bought a dress in that combination! The dishes are just so sweet! I'm sure your niece just loves them. Your Star Bucks mug is so special too! Naughty me! I haven't posted with Pink Saturday for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow I'm going to the Olympics(along with a few million people) so maybe I'll get some pictures there and post them. Have a great week, and Happy Pink Saturday! Sherri : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my gosh....be still my heart...get it...heart!! Anyway, this is the most fabulous collection of Heart servingware...I so would use these as my everyday dishes....a big congratulations to your niece, love the Pink and Brown combo!!
    Thanks so much for mentioning me...you really are sweet!
    Enjoy your weekend!! xOxO Nerina

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Sarah!!! you are an adorable auntie..m sure your niece treasures you for you love n thoughtfulness!!! the gift is beautiful and I think I have teh same affliction as you Sarah!! without a doubt.! I have been known to track down pieces in stores around an area as well!! those dishes are fantastic!!! she must have been soo sooo sooo happy!! I can only imagine!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great dish finds Sarah~ I just lover those! I bet your niece was thrilled! Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gosh, these are cute...your niece had to be tickled PINK when she saw all of them together! You were very determined to hunt them down. I'm impressed! :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. i should love to wear pink on my wedding day!!! that is some lovely china!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sarah, what lengths you go to, to make people happy. I am sure your niece will always treasure those pieces from you. Nice that you found enough for yourself, as well.

    Have a terrific week end!

    ReplyDelete
  16. They sure do look wonderful and worth your shopping trips to find them..They are gorgeous, and go so well together!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the sweet pink and brown china! You are a great aunt...running around to all of those stores.
    Hugs,
    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sarah, Bless you for visiting! I have been so busy prepping this house for sale, I am neglecting my favorite blogs daily. I did catch up, and, as usual, am totally delighted with everything I read.

    Happy Pink Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just love the Hunt for special things for special people! I bet your niece was so thrilled with all that Sweeheart Pinkness! And February is such a perfect time to get it all out and enjoy! Nice photos, too! Happy Pink Saturday, Sarah!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, you are a woman after my own pink heart! To go to such lengths to put together that set is wonderful. I am sure that your niece treasures the gift. I love chocolate and pink as a color combination.
    ♥, Susan

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello Sarah,
    I so enjoyed your post! All the pieces are lovely, in amazing shapes and perfect color combination!
    Thanks for sharing, and Happy PS!
    Monica.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the brown and pink color combination and I am seeing more and more of it. Love those dishes!
    Debbie-Dabble

    ReplyDelete
  23. OMG! I don't blame you for all of your hard work in obtaining a complete set! They are beautiful and your niece is one lucky woman!

    Happy PS,
    Jacalyn
    www.rmeboutique.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. wonderful post! Just love the whole story and that you also kept some for yourself and set up that gorgeous dessert buffet.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh my goodness, Sarah...that set was worth the hunt! They have got to be the cutest valentines dishes ever. The heart shaped bowls from your student art the best! Thanks for sharing the story with us! Have a great week. Terri

    ReplyDelete
  26. As usual you have the most beautiful selection of dishes! How wonderful that they were found at a grocery store. Someone there has good taste!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Delightful PINKS in today's post and Happy belated Anniversary to the the young couple ;-)
    Hugs and blessings,

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Sarah, thanks for your kind words, sometimes you just don't realize how emotionally draining somethings are, until someone points it out to you. It might not just be jet lag that has me so tired! Hopefully I'll be back to my old self in a few days.
    I love your pink Saturdays... pink is my favorite color and yet I never buy much of it!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sarah, I came by to thank you for visiting and your sweet comment, but Oh MY! I love those dishes. Will you adopt me?? I would so love an aunt like you! Very special!
    xoxo Pattie

    ReplyDelete
  30. They are "delectable" and your mission was accomplished. Pink and brown together seems to be quite popular these days.
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi Sarah,
    I love these dishes! I'll bet your niece is very appreciative of your efforts in finding such a sweet set.

    I've been reading your site and ran across the pink celebration with the flamingos. How cute is that! I love flamingos and would just love to have them in my yard for fun...not too sure what the neighbors would think! Our Houston Zoo will "flock" yards... It's a fundraiser for them and it's apparently popular. I think our local drill teams also do this for their fundraisers as well. I think it's cute...better than wrapping a house with toilet paper!

    Thanks for visiting my blog. I purchased my linens from eBay. I didn't realize it when I was browsing but they are made by a sweet lady in Greece. It took a while for them to arrive, but I've been very pleased with them and always receive such nice comments about them.

    It's nice to meet you...come back and visit soon.
    Sharlotte

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi Sarah! Nothing wrong with loving pretty dishes :) And the ones you picked out are all so very lovely!!! I'm sure your niece loved them!

    :) T

    ReplyDelete
  33. Your pink dishes are just so lovely and your niece is very lucky to have you as a dish mentor.

    Thank you also for visiting my blog recently and leaving a lovely comment. Yes, I do think my green and white polka dot dishes are neat. Having a teapot for my Tea Party Fridays would be so wonderful, though I've yet to find one anywhere.

    Jan ~ BellaCasa

    ReplyDelete
  34. The dishes are perfect, love them, what a great find, your such a good Auntie. Thanks for sharing these lovelies with us.
    HPS
    Gail - Decorating My Tin Shack

    ReplyDelete
  35. lovely pinks Sarah...really like esp the cup from starbucks! Thanks by the way for droppin by my blog... hope you'll visit again...and I will too!!!

    Follow me: Living Creatively with Flory
    http://flo-ry.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  36. Your blog is so very lovely. I love all of these pink dishes. I know you may have gone to a great deal of trouble to get them but they are really beautiful. They are a treasure. Thanks so much for sharing. Hugs, Lia

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Sarah,
    The dishes are all wonderful, I can just imagine the fun you had tracking them all down. Of course you would keep a set for yourself, you deserve it for being such a great Aunt & friend & teacher.
    ~Maggie~

    ReplyDelete
  38. How pretty! I've never seen that cute cup at Starbucks? All those dishes are so pretty!

    Manuela

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Sarah, what's not to love about pink and brown? This was a fabulous post!

    While visiting I got caught up on your last few posts and I love them. You are quite the photographer, your pictures are beautiful.

    I also thoroughly enjoyed Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe. What an interesting concept. I look forward to seeing more of your posts re Food for Thought.

    Have a great week, Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  40. What beautiful pinks! Thank you for sharing.

    Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi Sarah...

    Ohhh...what pretties! I love the color combination of pink and brown and then to add polka dots and stipes into the mix...well, it's just gorgeous! I just love all of the different pieces that you have been able to find and add to your collection...that really makes it fun, doesn't it! This set sure made for a beautiful Valentine's table! Ohhh...and I just adore the little Starbuck cups...that little pink porcelain heart that is added to the handle is just sooo darling! I'm sure that your niece just loves her gift...you're such a sweet Auntie!!!

    Well my friend, I just wanted to come by after reading your sweet note that you left for me on my spring vignette! I always love our visits!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari @Happy To Design

    ReplyDelete
  42. LOVE them! They are so unique and to think that you got them at the grocery store(s). I bet the hunt made it fun!

    The Starbucks cup is adorable and oh so feminine!


    I'm just letting all my followers (and you are one) know about my giveaway... nothing to do to enter.

    You are already entered!

    Just my way to say thanks!

    Talk to you soon ;)
    Bunny Jean

    ReplyDelete
  43. Good Morning Sarah,

    Don't you just love it when a PLAN comes together? I know I do!!

    I love all the pink dishes. What a treasure hunt that was!

    Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I love the color combination of pink and brown. The dishes are fabulous and what a special aunt you are to hunt these down. I'm sure your niece loved them.
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  45. The dishes (and story) are so sweet. My oldest daughter would love them too. I don't blame you for getting a set of your own! I love the coffee cup with tag on the handle one of your students gave you.

    Thank you for visiting AtticMag and leaving such a nice comment. I hope you'll visit often.
    Allison

    ReplyDelete
  46. The next time you find something that cute, Sarah, remember I'm up for adoption! LOL!

    Love this!

    XO,

    Sheila (who'll be blogging again next week!) :-)

    ReplyDelete
  47. I volunteer to be your niece. She must adore you. These are delicious.

    I am just back to work this week. It had been so long since I felt like visiting, and I missed everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Wow, you've got quite an amazing collection there! And that cup/bowl is from Starbucks you say? Too, too pretty! :-)

    XO,
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  49. These are the prettiest pink and brown dishes I've ever seen! Wonderful that you were able to find enough for yourself as well as a set for your niece!

    Katherine

    ReplyDelete

Thank you to each of you who take the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate each and every one and will respond to any questions. Your notes are the only way I know who has stopped in for a visit.