Nothing’s Perfect…
(and somehow it feels just right)
So I won the Anthropologie Latte Bowls in Blissfest’s recent Auction for Nie Recovery.
The Latte bowls that Stephanie Nielson wrote so tantalizingly about in her own blog. She rhapsodized about their beautiful colors. Their delighful sizes. And the way they fit so nicely into small hands.
And if one broke, that was okay with her. She’d sweep up the mess, put the pieces aside, dreaming of a future art project comprised of her ‘broken latte pieces’.
That post of hers was so touching when I first read it, before Blissfest ever advertised the auction. Not living in Mesa made bidding on some of the items impractical. But then I spied those latte bowls and had to have them for my own. By then I had fallen in love with Stephanie and her family. So I bid, and won! Thrill.
But as is typical with me, I just couldn’t just sit and wait for those bowls to arrive, so…I arranged to be walking past an Anthropologie store a couple of days later. And ducked in and picked up six of these beauties which together with my “Nie” bowls would indeed comprise a collection of my own:
The auction bowls arrived a few weeks later and when I excitedly opened the box and unwrapped each bowl, I laughed out loud to see the red one in pieces. My daughter wanted to glue them together but I told her, no, let’s do something with them, glue bits to our ongoing ‘terra cotta pot’ collage (mine looks like a kindergarten art project) or… something. No, somehow it’s right that one arrived in pieces.
I wanted the bowls because I wanted to somehow feel close to Stephanie. And her attitude toward the bowls was, hey, if they break, they break. Sweep ’em up, put ’em aside, and maybe do something artful with them later on. Don’t worry about it. It’s all part of the experience.
And I got to be part of ‘the experience’, too, now. See? With that lovely broken bowl, amidst the still perfect ones, I am relishing both cuteness and imperfection, wholeness and brokenness, both the small joys of pretty things coupled with their ultimate irrelevance in the context of what’s really important (go to CJane Run’s blog for those life lessons) It was all as it should be, for me.
Grateful for that broken red bowl.
I just discovered that we have an anthropologie store in Salt Lake City. I don’t get there very often but I am trying to figure out how to take myself there to purchase some bowls of my own. I too was really touched by the attitude. I have learned so much over the years about things like that–stuff breaks, clean it up and move on.
I loved your perspective!
I just bought some Anthropologie latte bowls as well! I just started reading Nie and cjane, and I was going back through Nie’s archives and discovered her love for colorful latte bowls. After reading her lovely comments about them I had to have some myself! Mine haven’t arrived yet, but as soon as they do I plan on putting their pictures up on my blog also.
Your blog entry was funny. I also read the NieNie blog and went out and bought the bowls. Within a week one dropped out of the cabinet and broke on the floor. I also thought it was comical……just another trip to Anthro. Needless to say, I bought another bowl, hat, apron, ornament, handles for a dresser….gotta love a broken latte bowl!!!