We had been married a couple of years and were in the process of selling our first house and having another built; we were feeling Very Adult. The house being built was near a small locally owned drugstore that reminded me of the place where I worked in college - packed with all the cute things that speak to [mostly]white women of a certain age, plus the pharmacy. I loved going in there when we visited the house under construction and imagined myself becoming a regular customer, greeted heartily from the counter by the Mike, the owner, when I popped in to browse. One day I found a set of coasters with charming drawings of English pubs that recalled our first trip to London, just the December before - another Very Adult thing. I needed those coasters for our new home. At the time they seemed expensive at more than $20 for the set, probably because we were paying for a house, and I tried to buy as much as I could find at thrift stores and garage sales. I waited, keeping an eye on them through the months. Eventually we found a different house we preferred across town, where we live now; we backed out of the construction and also my vision of being the neighborhood favorite at Mike’s Drugs. Before we moved into our new home, however, I did go in to get those coasters. (No one greeted me heartily, alas).
Whenever we use these - and clearly we do, often - I think of both my love of London and my young self, excited to be splurging on something that most people never give much thought to. During the years between then and now, I’ve found a bunch more Pimpernel coasters at garage sales and antique stores; I bring them home to place wherever a drink might want to be set.
So if ever you’re in my neighborhood, I will a) greet you heartily and b) have a beverage ready, with coaster. Like a proper adult.
Not sure our coffee table is worth protecting any more, but it does make me feel like an adult too