Large china pasta bowls are perfect to serve a big Saturday night spaghetti dinner. If not spaghetti, then mostacholli, ravioli, even macaroni and cheese. Any pasta dish that makes a meal by itself, or perhaps served along with a salad or crusty bread. Bowls like these were designed to hold a good-sized serving of your [...]

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It’s never too early to get your Christmas dinnerware ready. Fall and winter holidays are coming fast. Have your preparations ready ahead of time, and you’ll have more time to relax and enjoy the parties and celebrations. I keep a permanent shopping list, where I write down anything I need for entertaining, as well as [...]

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When you want to get more of your favorite vintage dishes, but don’t know the pattern name, what to do? Identifying vintage dinnerware is one of the challenges of using vintage dishes. Whether you have new-to-you-dishes, or a family heirloom set, getting more of a pattern you cherish can be complicated when you don’t have [...]

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I’m a longtime fan of the design style called shabby chic. Whether you call it vintage, mix and match or romantic, this is a lovely way to set your table and decorate your home. There are many, many vintage dinnerware patterns that fit into this style. I remember watching Rachel Ashwell on one of the [...]

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Retro style Mikasa dinnerware from the 1970s is another one of my favorites. particularly the Potters Art stoneware china line. I’ve written about Mikasa Potters Art before. This dinnerware line includes patterns that were designed by Ben Seibel, a well-known designer in the mid-20th century. Mikasa brought out these dishes in the 1970s and into [...]

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Cinco de Mayo is today, May 5, a time to party in Mexican style. Casual dinnerware goes with the festive atmosphere of Cinco de Mayo parties, complementary to the lively colors and simple goodness of the salsa, tortillas, enchiladas, Margaritas and other foods you might be serving. I selected a divided vegetable dish in the [...]

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  Pretty view: a charming afternoon tea, using Summer Chintz dinnerware by Johnson Brothers. My sister sent me a postcard from her recent vacation in Cornwall, in the west of Britain. I can see why she chose this card, apart from my interest in tea parties and table settings. The tea table setting features Summer [...]

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Not long ago, I found 12 cups and saucers of Laura Ashley china, in the Petite Fleur Blue pattern. That dinnerware now has gone to appreciative new homes in Germany. One of the new owners, Kim R. was so happy she sent me a photo, to show how the new cups and saucers are fitting [...]

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Pfaltzgraff china fans are passionate. They love their dinnerware patterns. Dish lovers of all kinds understand when Pfaltzgraff owners change out their kitchen cabinets, bringing in their spring, summer, fall or winter china patterns when the season change, like the rest of us ordinary folks change our clothes closets. Dishies understand, too, about owning several [...]

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Indigo Moon has been on our radar screen ever since the first time we saw it. One, because it’s blue. Two, because it’s so cool. It’s an occupational hazard of life on the dish trail: Sometimes you want to keep your finds. As soon as I see blue, the cart turns in that direction. If [...]

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