This is the first weekend, in a month, that John and I had a "no kids" weekend (it took me years to admit that I do enjoy the weekends when my children are with their dad...and not feel guilty about it). Yesterday, John suggested we stop by an antique show at a local boarding school. Yet another reason I married this amazing man...he truly enjoys rummaging through treasures with me. The show was jam-packed with table after table of over-priced lovelies: fun to look at, but well outside the parameters of "reasonable" impulse purchasing.
One of the last tables we visited had a set of to-die-for red (pink?) and white transfer ware that had me climbing over other (more well-behaved) potential customers to get to. What really caught my eye was a huge pitcher & washbasin that was in the center of the display. I have wanted a set like this for as long as I can remember, but have never seen just the right one...until yesterday. The price on the pitcher was, as I feared, not even close to budget friendly. Sensing my interest, the vendor quickly approached and explained that the price was for the entire set: the pitcher and washbasin, a three-piece soap dish, a cup, a smaller pitcher, a small vase (toothbrush holder? ) and.....a chamber pot (which I had, embarrassingly, mistaken for a one-handled soup tureen. To which the vendor responded: "Remind me not to come to dinner at your house". :::blush:::). Suddenly, the price seemed far more palatable, but still not low enough to actually swallow. I very reluctantly walked away from "my" gorgeous set and proceeded to think/ dream/ ruminate over each & every piece for the remainder of the evening straight through this morning. I am normally such an "out of sight, out of mind" girl, so this obsessing was really out of character for me...a fact that didn't escape John's attention. I must have had a wistful look on my face this morning, because he suggested we got back to the show to fetch my beautiful set. YAY and WOOHOO!!!
When we got to the show, the parking lot was jammed, so I suggested (with no ulterior motive whatsoever) that hubby park the car, while I run in to make sure we could still use our tickets, from Saturday, to get in. I bee-lined it to the table that housed my transfer ware and could see, from across the auditorium, that the set was gone. I didn't even need to approach the table for verification...it was just gone. My poor husband walked through the doors at that (untimely) moment and immediately recognized the look on my face was one of bitter disappointment.
Unbeknownst to me, he had another plan, but (wisely) decided he'd better come clean quickly. He handed me a note (too mushy for public consumption), written on...the receipt for the pitcher/ washbasin set, which he had snuck back to buy yesterday afternoon.
What a guy! So far, I've had no luck finding the perfect resting spot for my stunning set. I'm not sure 1.) if I should keep all of the pieces together or 2.) exactly what Emily Post would say about displaying a chamber pot in one's dining room. Decisions, Decisions :-)
