Pre-Clutter Clearing

So, I have always been thrifty. Frugal. But never cheap...okay, maybe sometimes cheap, but I would say that is the exception rather than the rule. Lately, having graduated and started my career and living with my partner in a lovely home, I'm starting to WANT things. It started last June when we went to a wedding - we bought the couple a really lovely wooden salad bowl that I would have loved to have for our house (though I realize in retrospect that I would probably have used it as rarely as I use the leaf shaped monkey-pod wood salad bowl I already have). It continued as we shopped through the holiday season - kitchen and tableware are my weak point and the holidays bring out all kinds of beauties. We did get a nice red tablecloth after Christmas that I love to look at, but avoided other purchases.

However, as I've been going through magazines for my vision board, I've fallen in love with a few items that I think are a deal, but really can't justify buying. So, I'm posting them here - it's 1/2 wish list and 1/2 for me to come back later and smile when I realize, like with the salad bowl above, how I didn't really need them in the first place. If I come back later and still really want them, maybe I'll buy.

I'm a sucker for certain materials - okay, pretty much all materials, but I really love glass, wood and white ceramic - and these wooden bowls really did it for me - they look shallow enough to use like a plate, but regular enough shaped to use every day. Not sure how cleaning wood dishes goes, but I have wooden spoons. Can't be too different, right?

($3 each, pacificmerchants.com)

And these mugs, I just love for the ease of having people over for coffee. I imagine them at a cabin or cottage, but I would love to be able to trade in all my mismatched cups for a cute stand of cups like this. (Cappuccino $29, Kenneth Wingard)

Yes, I'm a sucker for a pretty picture, but hey, I didn't buy yet!