I wanted the girls to play tea party with pretty dishes, but I couldn’t find it within me to pay $7 per tea cup at the antique malls.  Not for girls this young.  We all know they are going to break a few.  The really pretty matching sets for kids are around the $35 mark for small sets.  Eecks!  Finally it dawned on me: Goodwill!  I don’t need them to match!  I just wanted bright and pretty “real” dishes that would look nice stacked on the bookshelf in our “almost” playroom (just a few more months until Kelly is ready for a twin!).

The first couple of Goodwills we tried were messy and smelly.  Then we stopped by a couple of new Goodwills and JACKPOT.  Well organized rows and rows of mix and match (and definitely used) china.  Perfectly in budget at 50 cents a piece.  We pull out our Tea Party Quilt daily and this collection is seeing some loving use.  The first set (not pictured) Kelly broke.  All of it.  But then she picked up on the “breakable” concept, and we’re making serious progress with her.