Fondue platter 1970s

Fondue platter
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

Feeling a little guilty about my stuff is an underlying theme in this blog, but this particular piece makes me feel more so.

You see, my Mom bought this beautiful piece in the 70s (made in Los Angeles) and she never used it. She stored it for decades in her cluttered closet and then it moved to my cluttered cupboard and when I couldn't stand the clutter anymore, I sold it on eBay.

I feel guilty because this piece is so unique and I think my Mom would have liked to have seen me put it in use. But this set is just not that practical and in fact, I haven't served fondue at a dinner party in several years.

I think part of the guilt is because it has a tiny bit of sentimental value. It's a piece that epitomizes my mother's wonderful taste and eye for the unique and interesting. But then I have to remind myself... it's just stuff. And at least I still have the photo and blogging about it is like putting it in a digital memory book. :-)

I can prove it!

Post party
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

See... here's proof that I actually do use some of this crap... ha! And no, I didn't stage this to justify my having them.

I had just thrown a double birthday party for my husband and 5-yr old nephew so my fridge was extra full this day. Those dishes really do come in handy for leftovers, especially the ones with lids because it makes it easy to stack other stuff on top.

Plus it kind of makes the inside of fridge fun... like the party is continuing inside there. :-)

Those colorful dishes you see on the bottom shelf (in front and toward the back) and also the top shelf are vintage Pyrex dishes, mostly from the 60s & 70s.

Pyrex shelf

Pyrex shelf 2 of 2
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

OK, this is embarrassing... that I would share a photo to the world, of a shelf in my cupboard that shows my ridiculous collection of vintage Pyrex, neatly stacked and color coordinated (sort of). Oh and also some vintage Corning Ware.

NO, I don't have a collecting disease (or maybe I do but I'm just in denial)... it's just that these colors and patterns are so pretty and happy and they were produced in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Isn't it cool that they made these kitchen wares with fun designs way back then?

YES, I do use some of them, but to be honest, it's kind of hard to use all of them.

So what do I do? Should I just keep the ones I'm using and get rid of the rest? What to do... with all my crap.

How it started

This is the piece that started the vintage Pyrex obsession... the 4-quart casserole, pattern called Butterfly Gold, that was sitting in the cupboards in my parents' garage.

I was helping my Mom clean out and came across 3 of these puppies in different patterns... mint, with lids. My Mom was apparently saving them for me and my 2 sisters so I ended up with this pattern. She bought them ~30 years prior and just never used them.

I remembered as a kid we used various Pyrex and Corelle dishes and found those hidden in boxes in the garage and took them home. From that point I started a little obsession of collecting a few more pieces and a year later, I ended up with more than 50 pieces - yikes! All this crap I don't have room to store and there's no way I could use every single piece. So now I'm on a mission to use them all to justify the collection. What I don't end up using will have to be gifted, sold or donated... it's really silly to have crap that just sits in boxes in the garage.