Retro Kitchen: A Dash of Color

Growing up my sister and I would watch reruns of 1950s sitcoms, specifically The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (ran from 1952 to 1966), Father Knows Best (ran from 1954 to 1960), Leave it to Beaver (ran from 1957 to 1963), and The Donna Reed Show (ran from 1958 - 1966). While the shows were in black and white, my memories of the kitchens and the dresses are in color. 

Images courtesy of Sitcoms Online (left to right): Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best, Father Knows Best

Images courtesy of Sitcoms Online (left to right): Leave it to Beaver; Leave it to Beaver; The Donna Reed Show

It might be that my mom's kitchen colors my memory. She had colored mixing bowls in bold colors. Blue. Green. So there's always been something just not quite right with my set of clear Pyrex mixing bowls. Don't get me wrong, they're functional. They just don't thrill me when I see them. They don't call for me. They don't beckon me to start measuring and mixing. (My brown stoneware bowl does but that's another story. That bowl signifies home cooked breakfasts in my grandparents' kitchen complete with the smells of maple syrup being heated and butter melting.)

Therefore, when I stumbled across this 2000 reproduction of a 1940s Jadeite Fire King pie pan, it was only natural that I'd start daydreaming of colorful mixing bowls.

Image courtesy of Fire King via Amazon

(I've actually had a couple of Fire King bowls in my Favorites on Etsy for a few months. I regularly search "fire king oven ware" "fireking oven ware" "fire king ovenware" "fire king jadeite" and "fireking jadeite." How perfect would it be to photograph Blast from the Past recipes with accessories from the 1950s?) The Jadeite is my favorite color. My favorite shape is the batter bowl - so practical!

The Finds: 5" Diameter Fire King Oven Ware Bowl from Oh So Downtown, $5 + $6 shipping, 1 1/2 Qt, 8" Diameter Anchor Hocking Fire King Mixing Bowl from Jen's Closet, $9.50 + $9.90 shipping; Set of Four Fire King Oven Ware Mixing Bowls, 6", 7", 8", and 9" Diameter, from Swan Vintage FInds, $125 + $16 shipping; Fire King Batter Bowl from j.i.design, $60 + $15 shipping.

What mixing bowls do you have in your kitchen? Color or clear?