Bowls

As I washed dishes tonight, I was thinking about how few nights I have left without a dishwasher...if all goes smoothly, we will be first-time homebuyers by this weekend! And the house comes with a dishwasher.

But tonight, I washed by hand{always wearing gloves & apron}. And my thoughts wandered to the things that daily surround me. I have shelves on both sides of the sink and there's a collection of mismatched bowls on each shelf. Every one has a story, and every one is special for one reason or another. I like to collect fun bowls, and usually only purchase them on special trips or occasions. So here are some of the bowls and their stories...

{"Forget Me Not"}

Seriously, Lai, WHO could forget someone like YOU?!

This bowl set (the other is shown below) was given to me by my sweet friend, Lai, as a thank you gift for playing for her wedding in the summer of 2002. So many fun memories from that weekend...played Canon in D a record amount of times with Andy as the guests just kept coming! What a precious occasion to remember...

Bowl on left is part of Forget Me Not set

The pottery piece from the right is obviously not a bowl, but it's still special...

Michael and I picked out this piece together on our 1 year anniversary celebration at the Middleton Plantation in Charleston, SC. It was special to stay at the plantation because while we honeymooned in Isle of Palms, Charleston, we had an unforgettable fireside dinner at Middleton. Michael still talks about that steak! It was so quiet and romantic...even though there was a large table in the same room, it was group of deaf people, so they spoke in sign language and they didn't hear anything we were saying...but I've heard the deaf are pros at lip-reading...

Perfect for a scoop {or two or three} of ice cream...

This bowl came back on the plane with me all the way from San Luis Obispo, California in March of 2008. Due to plane difficulties on a previous trip, I was rewarded with one free round trip ticket to anywhere in the US serviced by AirTran, and I chose to go visit Lai in California. Oh, all the special plans Lai had lined up...she was full of surprises and was bounding with excitement for me and Emma's arrival! One of her surprises was going on an overnight trip up the gorgeous west coast. We stayed a beautiful inn and managed to get a little bit of rest with me(pregnant with Elliot), Emma, Lai(pregnant with Havilah), RoseMarie & Autumn all in the same room! Everything about that trip was unforgettable...many late nights talking, and a LOT of laughing...

This stack of oversized soup bowls are from a few years ago when my mom, Erica & Emily were shopping at Pottery Barn Outlet in Leesburg, VA. That was an interesting night, too. Emily managed to squeeze herself into a child's size halloween hotdog costume, and Regan was carrying on a conversation with GrandmaDee from the other end of the store.

I JUST got this one! Michael "sent me away" for the evening and I picked this out. I love green & I love stripes. Really contemplating painting our new kitchen Guacamole ...

This one's from another dear friend I haven't seen in years...Charissa Glazner...we have many awesome memories, too. One of the greatest: Our husbands got together and planned a surprise trip for us as a Mother's Day gift. This being WHILE we were both quite prego...we stayed in historic Williamsburg, went biking {yeah, we still laugh about the sight we were to behold: two pregnant ladies biking our way through town}, had delicious food, and shopped till we dropped at the Outlet Mall. The next time I get a free plane ticket, I'm going to choose to visit my friend Charissa in Colorado.

I can still hear Lai saying..."Oh, Nin...But it's sooo pretty..." as I contemplated whether to buy it or not on a TJMaxx trip...since it has made it's way from the shelf to my home, it has served many a large salad and I think of Lai every time and how we couldn't stop laughing hysterically as we tried on shoes{I do believe Liz was there for this trip, too.}

So MANY colors...

yup, another set of bowls purchased while with good ol' Lai and Liz...this time while we were in Greenville. It was special for us all to meet up there...Lai came from CA to visit family, I came from VA to visit family, and Liz came from IN...

This all gave good cause for much rejoicing. Oh, and making homemade chocolate mouse to serve in these fun bowls.

Hmmmm....I'm starting to notice a trend here....

because this bowl was purchased while with Lai, too...

I'm from a big ITALIAN family and we eat BIG salads.

another one from Lai...actually, it's from Lai's mom, NiNi...but I can't remember the occasion. Unless it was just because she thought my name was so cool like hers.

And, lastly. The polka dotted bowls were also purchased while I was in CA visiting Lai{surprise, surprise}!

The ice cream bowl was found quite oddly and randomly at a little markdown sale in the hospital at UVA the week Michael had his surgery last month. I don't think I need a bowl to remember that week, but I do love stripes and i dooooo love ice cream!

that's all.