Mug Love

Ok, deep breaths.  My name is Ellen and I am addicted, hopelessly - to mugs.

I am not sure when it started, or how or why, but it did.

And I love them.

So much so that our kitchen dresser is positively groaning with them.

At some point every year, Mr Rhubarb tries to enforce a mug amnesty with a strict one-in, one-out policy. It never lasts for long. It is simply impossible for me to stick to it. I had a cull about two years ago but that just opened up the doors for more gorgeous mugs.

I come from a strong tea drinking family. When we have a get together the kettle is on practically all the time. This is linked in with my firm belief that you should only use beautiful things in your everyday so I want my tea to be in a mug that gives me utter joy to hold and to use.

I am also very strict with my mugs - some of you will think I am bonkers, others who know, will be nodding sagely, but I use different mugs for different drinks. I am attracted to different shapes, sizes, glazes and patterns, inside glaze etc and all these factors dictate what I use the mug for.

The only caveat is that if I am at home and someone else offers to make me a cup of tea, then I am so grateful for that, I don’t care what mug it comes in – however as I personally love ALL of my mugs, I can guarantee it will be a beauty whatever!

Below are just a small selection of my favourites:

My Morning First Cup of Tea of the Day Mug:

We were presented with matching 'Mr' & 'Mrs' spotty Emma Bridgewater mugs by the mother of one of our best chums, the week before our wedding. It was a very thoughtful gift especially as I adore Emma B and her spotty china is our breakfast china and I do so like to be matching. Every morning, I make us tea in our Mr & Mrs mugs and I love them so much.   Occasionally guests come and try to use these mugs and I find myself twitching till they are safely stored back in the cupboard ready for the next morning. ( I never claimed to be sane here).

My Hot Chocolate Mug:

When it's cold and wintery outside and you just need a warming mid-morning drink, then I am partial to a little hot chocolate.  For this I need a mug I can wrap my hands around and I also want it to be as big as possible.  I have two options for this important job - either my Sophie Allport hearts mug which is lovely and big and looks perfect when its filled with thick, swirly chocolate inside, or my Fenella Smith hare mug.  I adore hares, obviously, and this has been a favourite mug for at least nine years!

My Afternoon Mug of Milk Mug:

Yes. I know. I am not five anymore - and yet there is simply nothing like a cold, fresh glass of milk in the middle of the afternoon with a biscuit or two. Call it a hangover from school if you will but it is a habit that has never gone away. Even when working in an office I’d still grab a cheeky glass of milk of an afternoon.

My gorgeous Rhubarb mug from Barton Croft has become my optimum mug of choice for milk. I love these mugs sooo much. They are so tactile and a joy to hold and use. The pink colour always cheers me up and I have a matching bowl so if I am feeling super decadent I can put my biscuits in it. Pure Heaven.

My bedtime herbal tea mug:

Now this does vary, but only between two options.

It is either a Susie Watson mug OR a Jane Hogben mug. I adore both for their very different shapes but both give me equal pleasure to use and hold.  They also look nice when filled my chamomile, honey and vanilla tea!

Mr Rhubarb usually makes my bedtime tea and even though no formal words have ever been spoken, he always chooses one of these mugs for me. And now you see, dear Reader, why I married him!