Pretty Spelled Red, Black, and White

I've noticed a change in my kitchen. It's been gradual, although it probably started when I was eighteen. I was married already and had a little son when my husband's great aunt Eva passed away. His mother decided to have a tag sale at Aunt Eva's house and we went. I fell in love with her old kitchen things and bought what I could afford at the time. Five dollars bought me some wooden spoons I still own today, a mixing bowl I loved (and that a cat broke some years later), and a Ransburg red-orange crock cookie jar--which I still have. The lid is cracked and glued back together, a memory of a time when my sons were little and got caught getting into the cookies.

Some years later I got a set of canisters at an auction that matched the cookie jar; I still have them too. They were worn and battered but I liked them and kept them and still use them daily. They're still worn and battered but then so am I! Last week I found a small shaker set in the same color and pattern. The addiction grows.

Over the years more kitchen items from the 30's, 40's and 50's have crept into my kitchen. Vintage plates replaced more modern dishes. Crockery bowls, red-handled utensils, cast iron, Fire-King and Hazel Atlas fill my shelves. The dishwasher was removed when I realized that most of my kitchenware could not be washed in it. The everyday sinkful of dirty dishes looked more and more like a vintage shop window. Now I buy nothing to cook with or eat from that was made later than 1970. I didn't plan it that way, but that is what my kitchen has become, and I love it.

At last week's auction I found a red and ivory sugar and creamer and matching platter by Homer Laughlin from probably the same time period as the cookie jar. For three dollars they were mine. At the same auction we got a Crossley radio made in the 80's to look like one from the 30's-40's and got it too, also for $3.00. It plays beautifully. I listed the platter on eBay and it's selling for enough to pay for the radio, the creamer and sugar and still have enough left for a cup of coffee.

Now the radio, the creamer and sugar bowl and the Ransburg pieces share space on my counter. I am in love all over again.

Linking today to Nifty Thrifty, Creative Homemaker on a Dime and The Dedicated House's Make it Pretty Monday. Be sure to visit them for lots of great ideas and inspiration.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.