Thirty years ago (!), pre-wedding, along with a "good" china pattern (Stephanie by Royal Doulton -- sadly, seldom used), I registered for a set of everyday dishes from Eatons department store (long gone from the retail scene). The dishes were made by International China, a pattern called Aurora Twilight Blue, mostly white with a light blue border around the rim. The entire set of 8 place settings plus several serving pieces cost $99.99. My mother ordered them for me as a wedding gift and had Eatons ship them to my future father-in-law's house in Toronto. They were waiting for us in our midtown apartment when we returned from our honeymoon.Those dishes have served dh & me well over the past 30 years -- but along the way, some of them have been broken, and others have been chipped and scratched -- so I've been looking for a potential replacement set for a while now. I originally had my eye on some Denby stoneware, but even on sale, it's a little pricey, particularly for two recently unemployed/early retired 50-somethings.
Then a couple of weekends ago, I noticed a sale at the mall on a pretty (and reasonably priced) set of dishes -- plain creamy white with subtle ridges on the rims. They're branded with the name of the infamous TV chef Gordon Ramsay, but they're actually made by Royal Doulton (I guess I have a "thing" for Royal Doulton, lol).
They didn't have white in stock :( but offered to order some for me, and they arrived on my doorstep a few days ago. I also got the matching serving pieces (bowl & platter, teapot, creamer & sugar bowl with lid), which were also reasonably priced. I love them. :)
What do you think? What kind of dinnerware do you have, and how long have you had it?
You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.
That is some fine looking dinnerware! We use what came out of the inheritance of my husband's parents, plus bowls from Pier 1 and Ikea that weren't with the other set. It's plain white and simple. There is also another set somewhere in the basement, white with pink and grey leaves if I remember correctly, from the same inheritance. Seems that one won't come out of storage until the kids are a bit older...
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your new dinnerware! It's plain and simple, but still elegant!
ReplyDeleteWe have Fiestaware, eight place sittings, two each in Scarlet, Tangerine, Peacock, and Shamrock (link below). I also have some other pieces such as serving bowls, pizza pan, spoon rest, etc. It's bright and happy and fits my personality perfectly. Plus we got it as a wedding gift and didn't have to pay for it. :)
https://www.fiestafactorydirect.com/c-153-5-piece-place-setting.aspx?pid=212
Since we moved and transporting stoneware is a hassle, we used Ikea plates for years, until last year, when we went and got some proper, grownup, white with blue flowers, set of plates, coffee set (capuccino and espresso), bowls, serving plate, it is just gorgeous, and makes me feel so nice, and for the life of me, I have no idea why I waited so much to get it. :-)
ReplyDeleteYours looks very nice as well. I like ridges on plates very much. But must confess I like small flowers better. :-)
Very nice. I love whit dinner sets. We had to replace our everyday set - white with a black line -a few years ago, and have a nice white set now from another UK celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver! I got a fancy set (though not Royal Doulton) years ago when I was first a diplomat and needed them for entertaining. It gets used reasonably regularly, and there's only one plate with a chip on it. White again (though much finer china) with a slim back line near the edge. Can't get away from simple elegant white!
ReplyDeleteNancy Calhoun, on my side (all unmatched colors), and plain stoneware with blue rims on my husband's. Sort of like BentNotBroken. I was trying to be trendy and practical at the same time. :)
ReplyDeletePretty! I love simple plates.
ReplyDeleteOur everyday dishes were a gift from Josh's grandparents for our wedding, so I love using them. Only 13 years, though. They are a simple, oatmeal coloured plate. Some are chipped. But I don't think I'll replace them yet. It makes me think about his grandparents every day.
Very nice. Glad they could order the white set for you!
ReplyDeleteActually because I could only bring 27 kgs of my life to Finland, almost everything else that we have here belongs to hubby (though I'm pretty sure at least half of them were given by his mother ha ha...). Our dinnerware is plain white.
A million years ago when I thought I was marrying my first boyfriend I started collecting Mikasa. http://www.replacements.com/webquote/miksif.htm I have no idea where they are now. I have never owned a china cabinet. Probably my mum's storage. Haven't used them in years at any rate. I currently have Sophie Conran white setting. Very similar to the one you have now.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty!
ReplyDeleteMy collection of plates is a story! I have the plates I bought when I had my first apartment (a stoneware set from Walmart), plates my aunts gave to me (various leftover pieces from china sets they owned), my husband's Corelle plates, and 2 sets of china. My mother bought me a (divorce sale!) set when I was in my late 20s, because she figured I might get married someday and want some china. My other set of china is my paternal grandmother's Limoges, which I inherited by default. My aunt was moving from the family home to assisted living and invited us to come and take whatever furniture we wanted before she auctioned it off. I took the china cabinet and buffet (among other things), and when we went to get it, she said "Oh, and you take the furniture, you take the contents." So, I have all the china, plus some Waterford and Baccarat crystal, as well as many things my other aunt brought back from her world travels during her time in the foreign service. Mix all that with ceramics that my aunt made, depression-ware that my mom or maternal grandmother collected, and random freebies (Campbell's soup bowls!), and you never know what you'll be eating off of in my house!
I got a set of black dishes from Target even before I met my husband. It's now missing several pieces, though we can get by.
ReplyDeleteI have visions of getting something new sometime. I think I won't go quite as plain this next time. Clearly, my pattern is that I have to live with my decisions for several decades!
These are lovely!!! I started collecting a pottery set in college, and those are our dishes... my mother-in-law disastrously broke 2 plates and 2 bowls in 30 seconds, and then I remembered that this pottery set isn't particularly easy to find when I went to replace them... so I may change to a more common set at some point.
ReplyDelete