Fondue is Fun. No, really. It is.

In my recent travels I came across these beautiful, bewildering and pristine fondue bibs.

I was dumbstruck for a short spell when I first noticed them, as they raised all sorts of questions and my mind raced in many different directions trying to answer the heavy issues at hand.

The first direction my mind traveled was to a place where I imagined asking my husband to wear one while eating fondue. Asking an adult male to wear a colorful bib at the dinner table is something that you may try, but you do so at your own risk. But apparently, in the 1970's there were households where men sat around wearing bibs while eating fondue, probably getting nutmeggy cheese in their mustaches and beards and all over their bib, but not on their shirts. Maybe a colorful bib goes with a colorful polyester shirt quite well, it might even be camouflaged against this backdrop. The same could not be said of a Nike t-shirt, or a modern sensible cotton work shirt. No, most modern men would look and probably feel like they were being dressed up as a baby.

After recovering myself somewhat I realized these bibs were still new in the original plastic packaging which naturally led me to the image of a man standing up and saying no to the bib, probably sometime around 1982 when men had become much more uptight about a lot of things, including bibs and fondue.

Perhaps that's what brought these to the place where I found them, or perhaps it was something else. Every generation wants to separate itself from the icons of the previous generation and fondue was one of the casualties of the 1970's. You can't print "Fondue is Fun" on a bib and present it to a young Madonna fan in her lace gloves and Boy Toy belt in 1984 and expect her to buy it. You might as well be saying "Going to bed at 8 o'clock is fun", or "Hanging out with your parents is fun" or "Liver is fun". Perhaps these bibs were printed in the late 1970's as part of a last ditch effort by the Fondue Council to save Fondue. A last, pathetic battle cry as it were.

Fondue went deep underground in the 1980's, it's heart still beating, but hidden from view (like Voldemort) in the back of kitchen cabinets (not so much like Voldemort) (damn it, now I'm going to have nightmares). Occasionally, children who knew nothing about bell-bottoms with penny farthings embroidered into the cuffs played in the utensil draw and wondered what the weird two-pronged skewers with the wooden handle and colored plastic dot on the end were for. And so they experimented by jabbing them into their sister's arm. Thereby ensuring the fondue skewers were confiscated and disappeared without fanfare or explanation.

To be fair to everyone that came after the 1970's (and those that emerged from the cloud of the 1970's) there must have been some confusion as to what was being fondued during Fondue's heyday. Some anthropologist associates of mine have been studying these bibs for the past few weeks, and in spite of deep research, they have yet to identify the foods pictured on the bibs. For those who haven't tried modern fondue, in this new millennium we are likely to have warm chocolate with fruits such as strawberries and pineapple dipped in our fondue, or a cheese fondue with delicious breads and raw vegetables. But if I am reading these bibs correctly, in the 1970's a fondue was some kind of yellow and brown liquid, and for dipping you had a choice of small tufts of grass, whole unshelled walnuts, large beef bouillon cubes and an assortment of yukon gold unpeeled potatoes.

So while I thank the 1970's for bringing Fondue into the mainstream, I am grateful to modern food thinkers for reinventing this cultural classic for our sophisticated, yet less adventurous (and less drug-addled) modern palates.

Fondue is fun. It is certainly fun to think about. It is fun to imagine that because it has a French sounding name, I am eating ethnic food when I eat Fondue (and may end up as skinny as a French woman) (and as stylish). But, it isn't fun to ask someone to wear one of these bibs against their will. One, because it might rip while you are struggling to tie it on. And two; these have survived almost thirty years so are you really going to use them once and throw them away?

Value judgments aside; if you are the lucky person who snaps these rare bibs up, and you choose to use them, you may find that if you place them on your fondue prepped dinner table, everybody at the table might just start to smile and enter a warm, colorful and maybe even slightly psychedelic place and put a bib on themselves. Even men in Nike t-shirts.

See you soon at So Dishy for more perfect dining accessories!

Watching Mad Men But Not Paying Much Attention To The Story...

A week ago I picked up Season 3 of Mad Men from the public library. You know, the AMC drama set in a 1960's New York ad agency, and revolving around handsome scoundrel-slash-mystery man and too cool for his own good, advertising superstar Don Draper. So, I have not seen the first two seasons, and maybe I need to in order to become fully hooked on this series, but strip away the beautiful, beautiful design and attention to historical accuracy in terms of the look of the show, and the story seems to me a bit, dare I say it...soap operaish...

Ok, so a few of you probably just clicked away from my blog after reading that. But for those who stayed, I didn't bring up Mad Men just to tear it down. Quite the contrary. Perhaps the reason I was not so taken with the story, is that I wasn't paying attention. How could I? The background is so overwhelmingly gorgeous. All the period costumes, furniture, hairstyles, and of course glassware and china were so distracting. I was pointing at the screen saying "Look! Pyrex Pink Daisy!" and "Roly Poly Glasses!" and other random Tourette's like pronouncements on the dishes they were using and taking to their fabulous parties and such (until my husband threatened to leave the room). Apparently the budget for each show is somewhere near $2.5 million, and it appears quite a bit of the money is spent on the set and overall look, no doubt including trawling eBay for dinnerware. (Now that's a job I'd do for free!)

To bring a bit of Mad Men style to your life why not check out our genuine 1960's Diamond Roly Poly glasses. Perfect for a stiff drink after work, or grocery shopping. Whatever. Also a perfectly acceptable glass for milk, or orange juice if you just want the attitude without the punch.

Or, these beautiful silver and wood bowls that would look gorgeous on the mid-century credenza in your advertising agency lobby. Or your coffee table, if you don't have an ad agency yet.

Then I suggest you take your hard-working (albeit womanizing) husband, and precious well-dressed 1960's kids (who you barely know) on a picnic and don't forget your Thermo-Serv Playing Cards Ice Bucket and Tumbler Set for more drinkies. (And don't forget the alcohol, because Don's probably going to have a flashback to his secret past life and you are going to need a drink.)

So, raise your glass, (again) in honor of those misogynists and cheaters and the women who worked for them and loved them/put up with them (because that's what we gals did in the early 60's), for I declare today (and only today) Mad Men Dinnerware Day, and I would give Betty Draper the key to my city, if I had a city and if she put a little more effort into making the most of her enviable kitchen.

And don't forget to visit So Dishy for more wonderful retro kitchen ware!

Time To Get Your Vision Checked.

Just like Christianity and Cajun cooking, there is, in my opinion, a holy trinity of American Cookware.

In the past I have blogged about two parts of this trinity before, Pyrex and traditional white Corning Ware. Today I want to talk about the third part of this sacred grouping which straddles both Pyrex and Corning Ware. (And yes I did just use the words sacred and straddles in the same sentence.)

In case you haven't already been introduced; please meet Visions - a line of amber and cranberry colored clear glass cookware by Corning. It looks more like Pyrex to me, but is made by Corning. Visions was introduced in the early 1980's and the original pieces were made in France before finally settling into a life of production in the US.

On the right you will see the wonderful 4.5 quart dutch oven (available here) in amber (the more popular/common color).

Now, here is why I love this stuff.

1. It can be used on the stove top and that just thrills me. Still. I love to be in the kitchen and turn to look at the stove and see the glass pot sitting directly on the gas flame and the pot can handle it. It makes me feel good about the quality of glass cooking my food.

2. I can see what's going on in there. These are my favorite pots for popping popcorn. We all want to watch the bread rising in the oven as it cooks, right? Being able to watch food change from one state to another is very interesting to me and these pots keep you informed of what's going on in there. Visions makes typical metal pans seem so secretive.

3. Easy to clean. This may be just me, but using a scourer on a metal pot is like scraping fingernails down a chalkboard.

4. No loose handles. I have a stainless pot that no matter how many times I have tried to fix it with the screwdriver, the handle starts rattling around after a week or two. Not so with Visions.

I could go on. I think these look lovely displayed too, if you have open shelving in your kitchen.

We have added a lot of Visions Ware to our store recently. It won't last long in there, but you are sure to own any pieces you purchase for years and years to come! For all the Visions items currently available in our store click and visit So Dishy!

Saying Goodbye...

Years ago I was wandering around one of my favorite hangouts when some beautiful, bright yellow caught my eye on the back of a shelf. I reached back past the pile of Made in China dinner plates to find an open sugar and creamer set by Homer Laughlin in the yellow Harlequin line.

These pieces never seemed to make it into my online store and haunted my workspace for a long time, being moved from shelf to shelf, until one day I gathered up all of my favorite pieces for a photo shoot and they were scooped into the mix.

Once the photos were downloaded, it was clear who won "most photogenic" at the shoot. The sisters of course! And one of the photos we took that day ended up gracing the front of my business card.

A few weeks ago, I put the creamer and sugar in my store, and yesterday they sold to someone who no doubt will love them as much as I have (although I hope they are put to more use!).

It isn't likely that I will find another set, I have never seen them in the places I go to buy my inventory since that day 5 or 6 years ago.

But, for now at least, (and to the disappointment of the 1000's of pieces of china I have waiting for their moment in the spotlight), the Harlequin twins will still be the stars of my business card.

Bright Enamelware for a Rainy Day

We have tropical storm Hermine visiting us in Central Texas today, and we are very grateful for the abundance of rain. However, when it is dark and gloomy like this it does make me crave a bit of light and color. So when I was looking around the warehouse and saw a big brown box marked "enamelware" this morning, I got quite excited. And here's what I found.

It's a motley bunch of various ideas of enameled cookware. The blue bowl is a lovely large salad bowl by Catherinholme of Norway. The dark green is a wonderful Dansk Paella pan (sold but looking for more!) and in case you don't have one, here is a good recipe for that wonderful Spanish dish (leaving out the snails!). The yellow pan at the base of my leaning tower is shaped liked a wok and would be an easy pan for a simple stir-fry. I have also included a couple of saucepans made in Japan with a playful floral design. Not strictly enamelware (not enamelware at all actually), they just happened to fit with the look I was going for in this picture.

Also found and listed at So Dishy were these 2 Le Creuset sauce pans (sold, but keeping our eyes peeled for more.) The difference here is that they are only enamelled on the outside, it's teflon on the inside. The colorful pot on top is an enamelware covered dish I would use for green beans or fruit salad, or to serve hot scones with butter (that sounds pretty good right now!)

All these dishes are available to bring some light into your next rainy day. Browse our entire store and buy here.

The rain is still falling as strongly as it was when I started working this morning. And after spending all day with these lovely pieces bringing some color into my day as I prepared them for their close ups, I don't mind one bit.

What's on your Coffee Mug?

Some coffee mugs send the message loud and clear- "World's Greatest Dad", "I Heart the Minnesota Twins", "Golf or Die", "The 93rd Annual Proctology Conference of North America". Others are more subtle, a glamor shot of your cat Poochie, a school portrait of your kids, a glamor shot of yourself. (Come to think of it, they do say a picture is worth 1,000 words and these probably work to prove that saying.) Among the millions of coffee mugs used every day in workplaces across the world, these are just a few of the corny, cheesy and cute variations that you may encounter.What better way to get the scoop on new workmates than by hanging out in the break room and seeing what ideas they align themselves with on the side of their coffee mugs!

I love the variations available in coffee mugs. And I have just filled the kitchen cabinet of So Dishy with almost 100 mugs that I have collected over the past couple of years. Some of my favorites include these Royal Copenhagen mugs which were issued with a different design for every year of the 1970's.

I just love the geometric artwork. In fact, I think of these mugs as being usable art. The designs really help me get going in the morning (especially when I don't want to get going). Not only does the caffeine wake me up, but the design works its way into my brain and, I believe, it makes me more creative. (These mugs have sold since writing this blog post, but I will try and get more!)








Of course, we can't mention coffee without talking about Starbucks.

Everybody loves their Starbucks. Right? Well, in case you haven't heard, Starbucks coffee mugs are a hot commodity. The company is constantly designing new mugs and cups including limited editions. We have a few in stock, but they go fast, but I always keep my eyes open for more. So if you find it essential to pay tribute to your favorite coffee chain; check back often! Here's what we currently have in stock.

We have at least another hundred to add to our inventory, so keep checking back at So Dishy over the next week or so. With the vast selection we have, I bet there's a mug just your style, and if not- next time you are in town- the joe's on me!

We Would Be Nothing Without...

Amy K Brown Photography!

The wonderfully talented Ms Brown is responsible for most of the beautiful photographs you see on our blog. She has a way of putting pieces side by side and making them look like they were born to be together.

If you are in Central Texas, schedule a portrait session with Amy, and check out her gallery of photos at www.amykbrownphoto.com. She is also prepared to travel to exotic locations to photograph your children, cats, dogs, etc. (Prices and fees may vary!)

The Little Blue Flower in Everyone's Kitchen

Corning Ware is known for its indestructibility, as evidenced by the plethora of Corning dishes, petite pans, menu-ettes and casseroles you will still find in the back of your Mother’s (and Grandmother’s) kitchen cabinets. And, while at times the 1960's and ’70s suffered a lapse in judgment when it came to color in the kitchen (avocado green refrigerator anyone?), the people at Corning stayed in their own class (and a much classier one as well) when they released their signature Cornflower Blue line in 1959.

While other white dishes yellow over time, Corning Ware stays as white as the day it came off the assembly line, and rarely will you find a piece with a faded flower, as the design was baked in, not painted over. When developed, Corning called this product ”Pyroceram” and it was used as the nose cone material for missiles before being gifted to the American kitchen in the form of Cornflower Blue, Spice O’ Life, Floral Bouquet, French White, Black Trefoil, and many others.

So raise your menu-ette and toast Corning for choosing peace over war, and to celebrate the 51st birthday (can it really be that old?) of the little blue cornflower. More people than ever are discovering the charms (and practicality!) and so can you, visit our Corning Ware section at So Dishy to browse or start your collection! We have a large collection of casseroles and baking dishes n excellent condition that we will be adding to the store over the next few days. And remember fill your shopping cart and the most shipping you will pay is $14!! (within the US).

The Colorful Kitchen.

The greatest tragedy of kitchen design, in my opinion, is the cabinet door. Of course you have to have at least a few cabinets with doors to hide the nasty stuff, but the upper cabinets in my kitchen have always been an extension of the interior design of the room. We spend so much time in the kitchen that I want to be surrounded by my favorite colors and styles.


If you love country style then perhaps you opt for open whitewashed shelves with blue and white Myott Finlandia dinner plates (sold, but on the lookout for more!), large blue glass tumblers, and a pile of Hall's blue ramekins. If you love color, perhaps it is a mix-match of Bauer and Fiesta's beautiful bright primary and secondary colors on display.


Right now I am displaying my vintage Pyrex collection. I have a combination of pink, blue and (believe it or not)- black snowflake dishes scattered on open shelves amongst my dinner ware. Casseroles, mixing bowls and refrigerator dishes in these colors sit alongside less attention-craving plates and mugs. It's an understated look, but every time I have friends over they just gush!

The great thing about Pyrex is that it is still relatively inexpensive to decorate with and use. This won't be the case for long. In the past 10 years of collecting I have seen a huge change in availability and price. Anyone who holds onto their dishes for another 10 years will see the prices skyrocket. Now is definitely the time to start stockpiling your vintage Pyrex, while it is affordable and commonly found. We have a number of pieces in our store, just ready for a new home, this eye-catching Pyrex Daisy & Blue Scroll (this one is sold!) Mixing Bowls and many other pieces ready for display.

Check out our full collection of Pyrex items for sale at So Dishy here or by clicking the link at right. We cap shipping at just $14 no matter how much you buy! So stock up, then get back into the kitchen and rip off those cabinet doors!