My Secret Obsession With Kitchenware

It all started with a spoon.

Growing up at my house there was one spoon that didn't fit in with the normal pattern of my mom's silverware set. The head of the spoon was round, instead of oval. The round spoon quickly became my utensil of choice and I tried to use it whenever I could. It just made eating cereal (or soup, or ice cream, etc, etc, etc) that much more enjoyable.

Then came the cup.

I don't even remember the day the red Coke cup came into my life but it has never been the same since. It's the perfect size for your beverage AND your hand. My mom can always tell when I've been to her house because there is a red Coke cup on the counter (interestingly enough, I don't have my own set of red Coke cups, go figure). But just think about it...why would I want to drink out of a glass when there is a perfectly good red Coke cup available?

Now it's the plate.

I have a random plate at my house that I always choose to use whenever I get up enough courage to cook for myself (and just to clarify, when I say cook, I mean put a frozen burrito in the microwave). It's a great plate. It doesn't match any of my other plates. It doesn't really match anything in my kitchen because it was passed on to me by a neighbor. It's a "neighborhood" plate. I've had it in my kitchen for approximately two years, which means that it was delivered to me soon after I moved here. This is what it says on the plate:

This is our traveling N-E-I-G-H-B-R-H-O-O-D P-L-A-T-E to say "We love you! We think you're great!" Enjoy these goodies we have for you, then here is what you have to do... fill it with treats and pass it along, share love with your neighbor - and don't wait too long!

Do you think my neighbors would classify two years as being too long? I feel guilty whenever I use this plate, but obviously not guilty enough to stop using it and pass it along. But don't you think the whole spirit of the plate has passed? If I started it up again people might start to talk. I've considered making treats and passing them along several times....but I never feel like I can part with the plate so I just put it in the dishwasher so that it will be clean for the next time I'll need it. My other plates are really cute, they're just so BIG and all your food collects in the middle because the edges are so curvy. Great for aesthetic purposes, bad for burritos. I guess I could go buy a set of cheap plates and just use those but old habits die hard. I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of change.

Long story short, I'm revealing this all too true secret obsession in hopes that you'll all reassure me that I'm not the worst neighbor on the block and that I shouldn't feel guilty about not "paying it forward" so to speak. After all, it's just a plate.