Mugs

I’ve got a theory that there are two types of people in the world.

The type of person who likes to have all the mugs in their kitchen from matching (or at least coordinating) sets, and the type of person who thinks that each mug in the house should be individual and special.

Now, I’m one of the later and always have been. I think I was seven or eight before I realised that some people even HAD coordinating mugs. Even now when I go places and all the tea/coffee comes in beautifully matching cups I raise an internal eyebrow.

I mean, how are you supposed to tell which drink is yours (other than the obvious that it’s the one in front of you, I’m not that blonde)? What if I only want a small cup of tea or, conversely, need to drown my sorrows in a “bucket” as they’re termed in our family?

Matching sets are just… well, impractical. What if one gets broken? Suddenly your perfect set is a set no more and you just know you’re not going to be able to get a replacement that matches.

Plus, they are so impersonal.

My mug is my mug. It’s the perfect size, shape and weight for a cup of tea. Other mugs just aren’t the same to drink out of – when I was working in the lab, I took my favourite mug in with me because I spent so much time there. And heaven help anyone who drinks out of my mug in the office… So it’s only a cheap £1 mug from Asda with a sheep/cow on it, but it’s mine, damn it!

I’ve strayed off the point somewhat.

As I started to say, I’m working on a theory that there are two sorts of people in the world, let’s call them the “Matching” versus the “Eclectic”. This isn’t to say that one group is right whilst the other is wrong, just that the people I’ve observed tend to fall in one camp or the other and it’s fairly indicative of how they live their life in general.

And don’t even get me started on the whole mug tree debate!

17 thoughts on “Mugs

  1. I have to admit, I’m of the mismatching camp as well. I have a mishmash of 2 or 3 sets (but even within the sets, they were different colours). Over the years some have broken and I realized long ago “what’s the point of having matching sets, they break”. Even with those sets, for the last 6+ years I’ve used one mug that is not part of any set, it’s bigger and awesome, simple black, but it’s just perfect for my morning coffee.

  2. I try and keep one mismatched mug to myself for as long as I can keep it without breaking it. Currently I can’t remember when I got my current favourite mug but it’s mine and I’m sure things taste better when drinking from it!

    The same can’t be said of the other mug though 😉

  3. I have matching mugs on a mug tree. Eek.

    It’s not my fault, though. I just moved to a new country and I think the mismatching sets take quite awhile to build. At least mine do. I don’t like buying just any random mug, but rather ones that have meaning. I especially like being gifted with mugs, as they mean the most.

    So I’m an eclectic at heart, currently living through a matching stage.

  4. Hey I think I’ve got a mug of the same series which I bought for work, the one with a pig.
    Being a student, I’ve always had a mishmash of mugs: hand-me-downs and birthday gifts. In an ideal world I’d have everything matching but then in an ideal world I wouldn’t be so clumsy.
    For your theory, have you looked into how upbringing influences it? My mum never worries about whether the tableware matches (unless she has guests) and I don’t. But then my bf’s mum is quite fussy and bf isn’t. hmmz. Good luck with it 😉

  5. While my mug views are not as well thought out as yours I do agree. Each mug I have tells a story of its origin. Some were gifts from faraway lands. Some were for places which no longer exist that remind me of my youth. Yet others I can’t trace the origin of and I imagine came into my possession post college. (Living in an apartment 3 other people on the lease and another 2-3 random inhabitants will do that to your belongings).

    My present favorite is this lovely solid glazed mug that came back with my brother from Australia as a present for me. He knows my random fascinations with odd things like mugs. And it’s perfect. No matter how hot or cold the beverage within is, the mug stay a medium temperature, perfect for the drinking. Whether it be hot cocoa or mountain dew, it’s perfect.

  6. In my family we all have our own distinctive mis-matched mugs. I do have a set of pretty blue mugs which I was given and tend to give those to visitors.

    I hate drinking out of different mugs it’s true it just doesn’t seem to taste the same.

    I have my own mug at work, with my name on, so no one can make any mistakes!

  7. Yay! I seem to have lots of Eclectic people reading the blog (Erin, I’ll let you off this once since you’re in a new country…)

    But what does the fact that lots of Eclectic people read Bright Meadow have to say about it. Oooh, there’s a question 😉

    illy – I’ll agree with the yoinking statement. My favourite mug of all time is a mid-sized Starbucks mug I yoinked on my 2nd/3rd date with the Cute Canadian. Aah, the memories. And aah, the look on his face when he saw I really was going to nick it!

    Yes, I am one of those people who steals mugs from Starbucks. I should feel ashamed, but I don’t 😛

    And publicenergy – welcome to Bright Meadow and the comments 🙂

  8. I have many tigger mugs, to go with the many tiggers, but none of them actualy match…. I have some that we have two of as they were bought for me and the boy… but all in all a big mish mash 🙂

    I do like pretty mugs though, like this only mugs but same design, which I’m currently coveting like mad…

  9. Honestly I’ve never thought much about the mugs. I tend to focus more on what am I gonna pour into the thing so I usually just grab one from the cupboard.
    What group would that be?

  10. Neko – very pretty… must – resist – the – lure – of – Whittard!

    Vidar – that would be the boy category. And welcome to Bright Meadow and the comments 🙂

  11. Mis matching over here but we do have quite a few similar white ones. In our house breaking mugs seems quite high on the to do list and as a result often if I get a mug I like I buy 2. Admittedly my favourite ones currently are a low price Sainsbury’s brand – so the bank was hardly broken. To me, it has to be a solid mug, something about that first coffee of the morning in a nice substantial mug. I don’t like the bone china ones – seem to have a problem with them.

  12. Who pays for mugs? That’s why mine are all different. And due to my fiance’s old boss’s fascination with Custer, we have a lot of commemorative Little Big Horn mugs around the house. Only one gets to come out to California.

  13. Tam – I am the queen of mug breaking. At one point the score stood at six mugs in five months. Since moving to Meadow Towers I’ve moved on to mainly breaking glasses and cereal bowls, but I’m still down two mugs in the past year…

    Abi – are you going to have a grand destruction session of all the mugs that don’t make it?

  14. I only have one mug and it’s a Christmas one at that. I just like it for the penguin on the side.

    I usually only have to switch mugs when I forget to clean it and it gets left with cocoa residue over a week’s vacation. I come back and found I’ve created alien life while I was out.

  15. Only one mug Adam, how do you manage! (I have at least six or seven… Though to be fair, only three I use with any regularity).

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