Monday, December 1, 2008

Mug moods...

(Before I start, happy December! :) )

Yesterday, Cheryl over at A Simple Yarn blogged about her favorite cups and the moods for which they each fit. I had to laugh when I read it because I thought I was the only one who had mugs for every mood. Inspired by her little photo journey, I offer my own:

I'm partial to pottery mugs (and pottery in general), and this was, for a long while, my favorite...sturdy, earthy colors...a good all-purpose mug that I found at a art fair several years ago...


I still use it a lot (using it right now, in fact), but then I found this mug, and it has been my all-time favorite ever since...


I love the shape, how it fits in my hand, and the little nub at the top of the handle, perfect for my thumb. And the colors? They could not be more perfect. (Blue fading into and overlapping a purplish red...the picture doesn't quite capture them right.) Even better, I know the potter who made it, Jamie Vandermolen (though I do not think she has a blog or website). I love having a personal connection to the artists who have made the things I love!

My next favorite pottery mug is this one, which I bought at a shop in Doolin, County Clare, when we were in Ireland in 2004...


It too is large, and I love the colors...and while it had nothing to do with why I bought it, I think the orange blob on it kind of looks like the White Hand of Saruman from Lord of the Rings, LOL (except that it is orange, not white, and it's upside down...um, yeah...). For whatever reason, I tend to gravitate toward this mug in the evening. It just isn't a morning mug.

Moving away from pottery, I have other favorite mugs. I have an odd assortment of Christmas mug, but of them, one is my favorite for this time of year...


I like the wintry scene, and it's nice because it isn't just Christmas-y, so I can use it all winter. (I do actually have a Christmas mug that I love very much, but I forgot to take a picture of it. Oops!) While I use it for coffee sometimes, I find it is the one I want to use when I'm in a peppermint tea kind of mood.

Speaking of Christmas, I got this mug for Christmas last year from my brother-in-law and his family...


I don't know which one of them picked it out for me, but it is undeniably the very best unsolicited Christmas gift I've ever received. I love it when people think about me and what I love and enjoy and then actually get me a gift that is relevant to that. I think that's what gift-giving should be about, but so often it isn't. Anyway, they know my penchant for sheep and for Ireland, so...perfect gift! (It came with a matching pot holder, too.)

Lastly, this is a recent addition to my favorite mugs collection...


My friend Amy bought it for me a few months ago when she had the opportunity to go to Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe in Boonsboro, MD. Why is this bookstore so special? It is owned by none other than Nora Roberts (who also writes as J. D. Robb), an author both Amy and I greatly enjoy (I'm wildly in love with her Irish Trilogy, one of which you see behind the mug.) This smaller, rounder mug fits perfectly in my hands, and it's the one I go for when I'm in a bookish mood.

*Cheryl's doing a contest that you can enter by sending her a photo of your favorite mug. Check it out! :)

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