I know I’ve mentioned my vast collection of coffee mugs (over 100 altogether!) on the blog before, but I recently held what I’ve come to call “the semi-annual washing of the mugs” and thought it would be fun to share a little more about my mug collection and how it came to be
First, I need you to understand that I don’t have a hoarding issue. Really. What I have is a finely curated collection, each piece of which has a special memory attached. Proof of the enjoyment this collection gives me: I don’t work on Sundays, but it was a Sunday afternoon when I washed these 88 mugs (yes, I counted. And there are more in my cupboards.) But I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the process of washing the mugs, dusting the cubbies, and rearranging them all again. I never once felt like I was working. No, I was remembering events and friends and garage-sale scores and mornings when friends came over to share coffee with me.
Here’s how my collection began: I was on deadline with a book and discovered that writing in coffee shops was conducive to getting lots of words on paper. At the time, we lived in a small town and it was a bit of a drive to the nearest coffee shop, so my thoughtful, ingenious husband suggested I move the coffeemaker and a few mugs into my office to recreate the coffee shop feel and aroma. It worked! And it looked adorable.
Some of the first mugs in my collection were those our oldest son sent me from his time living in Berlin and traveling in Europe. Those Starbucks mugs eventually became so valuable I hesitated to use them, so when Tarl moved back to the states and was outfitting his apartment, I “loaned” the mugs back to him. Not only did it make more room for my growing collection, but I love seeing the mugs in his cupboard and drinking from them (carefully) when we visit him.
We’d been using this mailbox cubby for office supplies on the rolltop desk in our last house:
But when we moved to our current house, I turned the cubbies on end to make a perfect display case for my mugs. (Of course, back then I only had 40 or 50 mugs. 😉)
The mugs are stuffed in a bit tighter these days, but at each semi-annual washing of the mugs, I cull a few so there’s always room for “just one more” should I happen upon one I can’t live without
I have mugs from dear friends, from my kids and sisters and other family members, mugs from my publishers and from fellow authors, mugs from favorite bookstores, coffee shops, and restaurants, mugs I paid a quarter for at a garage sale, and a few I paid quite a bit more for on eBay just because I loved them.
About a year ago, my sweet dad took the back off of the cubbies and put a wire mesh backing on to let some light through and better show off the mugs. (It’s still kind of hard to tell in a photo, but I LOVE the way it looks now, and so special that Daddy worked on the piece for me.)
This is how it looks after dusting the shelves and running everything through the dishwasher.
Each of those mugs holds a special memory or makes me think of someone precious in my life. I love drinking from them, taking care of them—and sometimes, giving them away to friends like YOU! I’m gifting this cute set of mugs (found at a garage sale long ago) to one of the readers of this blog—along with a book to enjoy while you sip your drink. To enter the drawing, simply comment on this blog post and tell me about your favorite mug. I’ll name a winner on this post tomorrow. [P.S. My apologies the wrong photo was in the e-mail you may have received. Those mugs were part of another giveaway that’s already happened! I think these are equally cute!]
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I like the photo of your father.
My father works the whole life in woodworking industry and he loves wood… so we have wooden floor, wooden wardrobes and libraries, wooden tables and even wooden cladding around walls… Almost all our libraries are maked by my father and there is often beautiful smell of new wood in our house 🙂
And my favourite mugs are mugs of my grandmother with black baroque silhouettes. It was a set of eight mugs, but now she has already only three. The rest is broken :- (
Thanks for sharing your Collection! I have a collection of figurines that get a semi-annual cleaning and I love dusting and remembering each story of how it came into my possession. Some are a little vague but it’s still entertaining! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
My current favorite mug is one made in Poland, hand painted, because I’m mostly Polish. It is blue and white and such a nice shape.
I really enjoyed reading about your mugs and seeing your pictures. I will have to show this to my 16 year old daughter. She has been a coffee drinker for several years already, works at a coffee shop, and already has a mug collection of 15-20 mugs. She loves them all and often can’t decide which one to drink from. Now she’s got me looking at mugs. But for now, I drink my tea and coffee from the a plain gray (read boring) IKEA coffee mug everyday, but for some reason I love it.
What a great collection! I love mugs too! I love my white Fire King mugs because I remember my daddy drinking his coffee out of them. Now I have started getting a mug when we visit different places or states. I have a favorite and it is a tall mug I actually got from Dollywood. Brings back great memories!
I saw a Kansas State purple colored mug in the bottom right corner, before the wash day! OF COURSE that would be my favorite! Most all guys from West Douglas in Ellsworth qualify for ingenious, including Barta boys along with Pflughoefts and Raneys and maybe Belts too!
I loved this post!!
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I love hot tea. My favorite mug was a gift from my husband who knows me so well. It says, “Coffee is not my cup of tea”
I have a mug that my Daddy gave me for my 40th birthday,,it says happy 40th on it,,he passed just a few months later,,i always stopped for coffee on my way to the hospital to work,,at 6 am sharp he had it ready when i stopped by,,it was our time to have a few minutes before work,,,he was only 62 when he died of a stroke,,that was 21 yrs ago,,i still drink from that mug,it was the last gift i got from Daddy,,and I cherious those special moments we had
Thank you for inviting me into your home to get a peek into the “life of mugs” in the life of Deborah. The memories and joy are truly priceless.
I, too have one very special mug. The object of my affection is a remarkable old friend Harley Warrick. I am a barnstormer. Harley painted Mail Pouch signs on 20,000 barns and walls in his lifetime. My mug features a photo of Harley and a pic of one of his iconic signs. The Barnstormers collect memrobilia from the bygone era of Warrick and his fellow painters.
When I sip from my mug it takes me back to 1997 when I enjoyed an afternoon in Harley’s workshop in Ohio. The memories warm me like a cozy quilt.
Many thanks Deborah for spurring the thoughts of my friend to my heart.
Blessings to you and yours and I appreciate the opportunity to share your mug passion!
Love your collection of mugs! Very interesting!
My favorite mug is actually an author mug! Karen Barnett made a ceramic mug that really looks like an old fashioned tin mug and I love it!
I love that! And I love that each one share a special memory. That’s what life is all about. What joy. Love all the light in your home.
I have many mugs far more decorative but my favorite is a mint green one my neighbor gave me because it no longer matched her kitchen. Perfect size.
Love this!!
I am a big coffee drinker and love your coffee mug collection. What s great idea. Although I am not a big tea drinker. I have thought of collecting tea cups because they are so pretty. But then I would not have the wonderful stories that you have about your coffee mugs.
I really collect fancy tea cups, but I have quite a few mugs also, as my daughter is a big coffee drinker. I don’t do coffee, only tea. My favorite mug changes, and my current one is a ivory colored mug with my first initial on it. My husband has a matching one with his initial, and they were given to us by my sister-in-law when we visited her and her husband last winter in Florida. They were waiting on the kitchen counter for us at breakfast our first day there!
Deborah:
It’s nice to meet a fellow “cup-a-holic” 🙂 I collect cups as souvenirs when I travel on vacation. They are usually fairly inexpensive, and they don’t take up too much space in your luggage. It makes me smile and remember fun times when I use my vacation mugs.
Another fun fact: I try to coordinate my cup with what I’m wearing that day. I keep most of my cup collection at work since that is where I drink my morning coffee. I often get comments about how my cup matches what I’m wearing. It usually makes people laugh when I tell them I do it on purpose. 🙂
It’s hard to say which one is my favorite, but I have one that makes me smile and think of a dear lady who has gone on to be with the Lord. She gave me a mug that says “Everyone is born left-handed … you turn right-handed when you commit your first sin”. I leave this one in my Sunday school classroom and think of Mur every Sunday morning when I drink my coffee with my left-hand. 🙂
I am also a cup/mug collector. I think my favorite one is one I bought at the Boeing Flight Museum when a friend of mine and I toured the place while on vacation. It has a lot of different airplanes embellished in it and will NEVER see any liquids other than dish washing soap!!
Thanks for your “mug” story! Lots of them in our house too, although not as many as you:) I guess my favorite is one my 29 year old son got me when he was young. I quit using it, so it’s just to be cherished.
That’s neat how you have collected all those mugs. I like mugs too. One of my favorites is a delicate taller teacup with butterflies and flowers on it. Thanks for the chance to win this giveaway.
I love mugs as well! But hubby doesn’t want my collection to grow 🙁 Right now, my favorite is one a friend gave me. Its oversized for extra coffee holding and says “Two women met for coffee, when they departed their cups were empty but their hearts full”. It reminds me of how much I love her everytime I use it!
Cute! Doesn’t it feel good to have everything clean and dusted and arranged? We are living in our RV for a short time, so all of my favs are in storage. I’m currently drinking from a Starbucks mug, perfect size and shape. 12 oz, not the gigantic grande or venti. I have 2 of this size, one is beige and Starbucks logo looking while the other is Christmas. I use them both all year long. 🙂
I have several favorite mugs!😊 I have a few I have made on Shufterfly with pics of my husband and my kids. I have a couple baseball ones including a St. Louis Cardinals one(I am a huge Cards fan!). I have one that has Emma Watson as Hermione and Belle back to back reading. I have a Clint Harp mug from Fixer Upper and an adorable mug from my kids and mom for Mother’s Day that says I run on caffeine and kisses. My current absolute favorite is one I made on Shutterfly after Becky Wade, Karen Witemeyer, Courtney Walsh, Jody Hedlund, Katie Ganshert and Julie Klassen came to Branson Missouri for a talk/book signing. It has pics of me with each of the ladies and one of me with all of them, plus a quote that says you can never have too many books! ❤️😍☕️
I’m not a huge coffee drinker but I LOVE tea, so I’ve recently started collecting antique tea cups. My favourite one is a gorgeous little Royal Albert with stunning dark pink and black flowers on it😍🌹. Thanks for sharing your story and for the opportunity to win the giveaway!
This was a cute post!
I also have/had a mug collection. Many of my favorite mugs were gifts from people I love. Many were gifts from fellow workers or students. When I retired from teaching I would gift a favorite mug with the word ‘teacher’ to new teachers who were just starting their profession. Doesn’t every teacher need just such a mug on his or her desk? Two of them even went to Germany where one of our exchange students lives and works.
I enjoy a smaller collection, but they all hold memories, especially of trips. My favorite morning tea mug is from Camellia Grill in New Orleans.
I guess I have a few favorites. My daily coffee is in one of two that we got for a wedding gift 36 years ago. Can you believe it is still hanging in there? Then I have the mug my dad always used. When I bought him a new mug in 1977, he wrote on it, retired mug and the date. I have it in my sewing room as a reminder of him. I also have the mug my grandma drank her tea in. Again, a nice memory of her. I haven’t thought about this in a long time. Thanks for the memories!
My favorite mug is green (my favorite color) with the scripture verse “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.
My favorite mug is black with these words: “It’s not that I have too much fabric, it’s just that I shop faster than I quilt!” This describes me pretty well.
That is a good saying…so true too. I just don’t quilt fast enough.
I have a mug that says, “Life is a hard trail Always ride a good horse” from friends who live in MN (I live in OH now)
I too have a collection of bells. Wooden, crystal, porcelain, silver, etc.
The first bell was a wedding shower gift and it grew from there.
Now I have hundreds from all over the United States and the World.
All but a few were given to me by family & friends.
Love this post and the pictures! I, too, am a mug collector and started collecting from places we traveled. I originally collected spoons, but when we were stationed in Cyprus, the CO’s wife used beautiful tea cups she had collected to serve coffee after dinner parties – each of them different with a collectible spoon to stir. I really liked this idea and began collecting cups, then on to mugs.
My favorite mugs are some created to represent books I’ve read or with pictures of my grandchildren. Don’t include me in the drawing because I am limited in mug space.
You collect mugs like I collect Depression-era glass! It’s all in the hunt, and in the actual use. Yes, I use mine for coffee, although those lovely etched cups don’t hold nearly the same amount of joe! My favorite mugs are from vacations. The “Star Wars” Rebel Alliance mug takes me back to our trip to DisneyWorld when my kids were small. The Minions mug takes me back to Pharrell WIlliams’ “Happy” and our California trip, the last with both kids after their graduations from high school and college. Ann: I ALSO have one from the Camellia Grill in NOLA! And the NASA :Houston one tells me “Failure is Not an Option” with my WIP. How’s that? Thank you for sharing your mugs and lovely home.
Not being a coffee drinker and tea only on occasion, I am not really ‘into’ mugs but my husband is a coffee drinker and when I go on trips w/o him I try to find a starbucks mug from the city where I am. We have quite a few of those now. I collect Matryoshka dolls and have 100+ of them. Loved your post. Thank you for sharing about your mugs!
My favorite mug is one that belonged to my grandma with holly on it as it reminds me of both my grandma and mom.
I think my favorite mug is my travel mug my daughter got me in DC with Abraham Lincoln on it.
I too have lots of mugs. One of my favorites,I am drinking coffee from as I read this. It has seen better days. “Happiness is being owned by a cat!”. Somewhere packed away,is a cup that has ‘dad’ on it,that my daddy used everyday!! And one with Mom,that she used everyday!!
I love your mug collection. So fun!!! My husband has been buying a different colorful mug for me about every six months from the Original Pancake House. One of our favorite breakfast spots. I now have 4 of the 66 available colors. And I have an adorable Corgi mug my sister gave me.
That’s 4 of 6 available colors!
I’d love to own a mug from Deb’s prized collection & those colors will work perfectly with my kitchen 🙂
I have so many favorites but I think my most favorite mug is one that has a picture of me & my husband at our daughters wedding. It was a beautiful Christmas wedding and as we exited the ceremony we had a snow machine blowing from the balcony. It gave the church a snow globe effect that was absolutely breath taking. The joy on our faces is so easy to see. I smile every time I use the mug & reminisce about this special day!
Thanks for sharing your collection. My favorite mug is this huge Reeses peanut butter cup mug. Its my favorite because it holds a lot of coffee and when its raining I can curl up on the couch with a good book and my mug of coffee.
I too have favorite mugs for my coffee and tea drinks. Not a collection, just a few favorites that I hang onto. Loved your story about your collection, and look forward to a aquiring some of your books.
My favorite mug has a copy of a 1989 Montana centennial US postage stamp. Montana is where I met and married my husband…forty-one years ago.
I am not a coffee drinker, but my husband is a major addict! He has quite a collection of coffee mugs. I think my favorites have to be a set of Mr. and Mrs. mugs that someone gave us as a wedding gift. They are a lovely large size.
I have favorite picture of him drinking from the Mrs. mug 😀
I have a mug collection, too! Most of mine are packed away because I don’t have any room for them since we moved. I drink tea from them because I don’t like coffee.
My favorite is white with purple flowers my mother gave me. It shows “Daughters Are Special People” printed in purple. I always enjoy looking at your collections and look forward to see what you find at the yard/estate sales. Thanks for sharing.
I have probably as many as you do. I have a daughter that is a world traveler. She is working on #79-86 right now. She just left Croatia and surrounding areas and is in Austria. She brings me a coffee mug home from each trip.
I have another daughter that travels the different states and brings me one from each state. Plus I have friends that give me some. But I always have room for more.
I love reading about your garage sale finds and all about your cups!! It’s so interesting and fun. Currently, my favorite mug is one that my daughter gave me. She shares a love for coffee like I do and is always getting me one when she travels. Thanks for sharing with us!!
I love your collection and they reminded me of my father’s shaving mug collection which he also kept in the mailbox cubbies. There is something fascinating to me about the stories that surround the cups. I only have about 20 but each one holds a special place in my memory. I remember each person who gave me a cup as I hold my hands around the warmth of it. It is a lovely collection… thanks for sharing.
Lovely collection of mugs, currently, my favorite mug is one that my husband gave me. I would love to own a mug from Deb’s prized collection.
My favorite mug is one that is now plain white, but I still call my “Speckles mug”. When I was pregnant, which is 23 years ago now, we adopted a little Beagle puppy and named her Speckles. When we went to PetSmart to buy puppy supplies, they had a mug w/ a photo of a beagle on it, and of course, I bought it. Now Speckles has long since passed, and the picture has flaked off completely, but I KNOW it is “her” mug and can’t get rid of it!
One of my favorite mugs has Faith written in large print with the remainder of Hebrews 11:6 in smaller print. The other says Home in a large font with Joshua 1:9 in a smaller font.
My favorite mug is the one given to be by my heart sister.
My favorite mug is a travel mug that my husband got me from Starbucks. It’s so old that the rubber gripper part on the outside has fallen off but I still use it when I need to travel with my coffee.
I have a few mugs. A favorite brown and green mug I use for my tea every morning. I found a cute blue and white mug with hibiscus and Hawaii on it. Otherwise, my mug tree has a set of cute navy checkered ones.
I have a snoopy mug I love it’s snoopy on his dog house I drink from that mug when I have a soar throat some hot tea with lemon and honey
I actually had to sit down and think through my mugs to figure out a favorite. Thankfully I only have about 20 that are special. My favorite has to be the first special mug I got. It is cream colored with a row of heart around both the top and bottom. There are two adorable teddy bears hugging. The saying is, “A hug a day keeps the lonelies away.” I collect teddy bears and I’m known at church for giving wonderful hugs. My nickname for my husband is Teddy Bear since his name is Ted.
I love your mug collection and hearing the stories behind them. My favorite mugs are a set of Raggedy Ann and Andy mugs that my husband gave me for our first Christmas together. We were engaged and planning and planning a wedding and trying to save to find a house to rent, so we didn’t have much money for Christmas presents. I had shared my love of Raggedy Ann and Andy with him and how my mom, who had passed away the year before, had started a collection for me. It meant so much to me that he remembered that detail and bought me this set of mugs. This will be our 16th Christmas together, and I still have all of my mugs.
I love the colorful displays of your mugs. My favorite mug is a clear glass mug with a square bottom and round top and thicker than some. I like clear glass so I can see how strong my tea is. I liked the canning jar mugs with handles but since I have broken a few of those with hot tea, I just keep them in the cabinet. I have thought about going back to stone ware mugs so my tea would stay warm longer. I collect clear glass and have it displayed in a china cabinet my mother had all my life.
Great pictures! I have so many mugs that I enjoy using.
I have a couple mugs I enjoy using — one is a Christmas mug and the other a mug from a dear friend.
Love your mugs. I tend to use the same one all the time and just look at the rest of mine.
I, too, love mugs. I have many, but I think my two favorites are one I received from my eldest daughter for Mother’s Day one year and the other is one I purchased while on a romantic getaway with my wonderful husband. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and your mugs 🙂
I love your “mug” story. I don’t have near the amount of mugs that you do, but each one I have that I use has a special memory attached to it. All the family know which ones are mine, too. 😉
I LOVE this! I have some as well that have great memories attached. I also have quite the glass cloection. When I was a kid, my parents let me buy those and postcards as souvenirs. I continued the tradition even after I could buy what I wanted. It’s so fun to look at them and remember the fun you had or think if the person who gave it to you. Keep on adding to the mug collection – and your memories!
It’s hard to say which is my favorite but I love one my cousin who lives in Minnesota sent me many years ago. It has my name & the meaning of it written on it. My cousin is very special to me & we grew up together. I’ve visited her several times through the years, but drinking my morning coffee out of that lovely mug makes me feel so close to her!
I have a delicate snowflake mug my husband gave me at Christmas a few years ago; of which I drink everything out of except coffee because I am not a fan of the stuff!
Loved reading all the comments from your readers, just as I’ve enjoyed reading some of your books. I enjoy coffee in the mornings and have quite a collection of mugs. When we went to visit our youngest son & his wife a few years ago in another state, he had a sweet surprise for me. A friend & his wife had visited their family in Michigan, which is where I was born, grew up, married & had our 1st son. Before the friend left on the trip, our son asked him to get me something from Michigan if he could. It was such a sweet surprise to receive a mug of the Detroit skyline plus a pound of coffee made in Michigan. I never knew they made special coffee there. My husband grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which was well known for the Pennsylvania Railroad shops back in the days of steam trains as well as newer trains. His dad & 3 brothers worked for the railroad back in their heyday. The Horseshoe Curve is a famous national historic landmark nearby so, of course, hubby enjoys his coffee from that well used mug.
I love your mug collections. I am a big tea drinker and I must have a certain mug to go with it.
That is so fun!! We have a small house, so I don’t allow myself any collections…..my husband would say I collect books, but I don’t. As soon as I finish reading the book, it’s passed on to someone who will enjoy it. The ones stacked up in my house are the books I haven’t gotten to read yet. hahaha
I love the way you have the mugs displayed.