My child will be born with a silver spoon....

Quality. Attention to Detail. Craftsmanship - These are the things that I struggled with the most at my last job, but they are also the things I have learned to love over the last year or two. I realize this as I lay in a giant pile of silver plates, bowls, candlesticks, platters and other antiques that my grandmother passed down to my mother.

I've always appreciated a thoughtful script and witty banter. It was easy to appreciate good cinematography or a well tailored shirt. In retrospect, I think my childhood fascination with coin collecting was in large part do to the incredible engravings behind each piece of currency. They are miniature works of art. But it wasn't until I went to the the Metropolitan Museum of art that I started looking for and appreciating the beauty in everyday things. (That place is incredible. I could spend an entire month in there and not get bored.) What it taught me was that art isn't simply limited to paintings, sculpture or photography. Craftsmen are in all trades - furniture, cookware, musical instruments, clothing even baseball cards. In fact, the weaponry section was one of my favorite sections in the entire museum.

Anyway, I because in the process of binging on thrift stores in Hilton Head and Charleston I realized I enjoy admiring well crafted items (and was sick of our disposable culture). The stores were filled with unwanted gifts and chipped (though perfectly good) items of fairly wealthy people along the coast. I have always liked thrift stores simply because you never know what you will find, but there is a big difference in the things middle class people give away and the things wealthy people donate to charity. I bought all sorts of things: blown glass decanters, a copper fondue set from Holland, crystal glassware, pottery even silver cutlery.

They are objects that demand to be looked at. They have weight, they sparkle, they shine. They don't allow you to rush through a meal or a cup of coffee without admiring what you are doing. I like how these items can turn everyday activities into sacred rituals. They take me out of my head and force me to acknowledge what I am doing, they make me smile, they teach me to appreciate life.

I look forward to the next time I share a meal with friends in my home.