Once Upon a Pyrex...

Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with a dish.  A Pyrex dish, to be specific.  This love affair was a long time coming, since she had owned said dish since 1997. It was a beautiful yellow mixing bowl, that once belonged to her grandmother. She used it sporadically for popcorn. It had a few sisters: a similar but smaller green mixing bowl, and an identical orange bowl.

It sat in her cupboard. And there it stayed for 18 years.

Until one day, and she can't remember exactly why (but thinks Pinterest may be to blame), she got it out. She looked at it carefully.  She laid its little green sister inside, nestled close. Her mind began to roam to to her grandmother's hands as they mixed cake batter inside her bowl, as they snacked on potato chips filling her bowl.  She began to realize that it was missing its two littlest sisters: small red and blue bowls that were made to perfectly nestle inside the green bowl.

The Pyrex Primary set. Le sigh.

And this was the beginning. The beginning of her love affair with Pyrex. It became a treasure hunt to find the missing bowls to complete her grandmother's lonely set. Through flea markets and antique shops she hunted, looking for the perfect bowl to make its way into her little primary family.

And find them she did!! As she displayed them on her counter and fondly took pictures of them, she began to realize that there were so many more beautiful dishes to be found!! The hunt was on!!

As she collected more pieces, she would place them on her counter, not wanting to put them away. They were too fabulous to place in a cabinet! Too rich in history to hide behind a closed door! As her collection grew, she knew what was needed.

A display cabinet.

But not just any display cabinet, it needed to be a vintage piece of furniture. A display cabinet worthy of her prized dishware. So the hunt continued! She found a lovely, retro cabinet that she considered worthy to support the integrity of her vintage dishes. She arranged and arranged. It was glorious. She was happy.

Then she discovered Fire King.

Oh the beauty of Jade-ite!! The delicate lovely hues of Azurite! The intricate brush strokes of the Peach Blossom! The golden sheen of Peach Luster! These pieces began to find their way into her arms and into her home, and the lovely cabinet was becoming quite crowded. So it was decided: another cabinet was needed. Would she be able to find another vintage-dish-worthy cabinet? She would!!  A beautiful curved-glass-fronted cabinet was discovered at the flea market, and it would lovingly frame her treasures.

So there they stood, proudly displaying her vintage dishware collection. Her kitchen slowly began to transform into a vintage kitchen. She began to discover new antique and vintage shops, and flea markets where unique dishware and retro items could be found. A retro toaster sits on the counter, feeling so happy to be useful again. A Westclox clock sits on the window ledge, ticking away in contentedness. Milk glass salt and pepper shakers sit on the stove, anxiously awaiting meal time.

Milk Glass, did you say? Lovely white, opaque, and opalescent as the sun streams through its facets? Yes, milk glass, her newest love!  Never to compete with the her first loves of Pyrex and Fire King, but a love all of its own. And could it be, could it just be so! That she would have a perfect blue display bookshelf that belonged to her grandmother?? Yes it could!  Oh how the gleaming, white glass  stands out as if to say, "I am beautiful! I have stood the test of time! I belong on this shelf!"

And do you want to know a secret? This love can be shared!  It just so happens that this love is contagious! Her antiquing girlfriends have caught the vintage-dishware bug, and pieces are finding their way into their homes! Glory BE!!

Long ago, a yellow Pyrex mixing bowl belonged to my grandmother. Her memory, and the knowledge of countless other hands that have mixed, kneaded, stirred and baked, lives on in my kitchen.