I don’t know what it is about hanging plates on a wall, but it’s something that makes me extremely happy.  The first time I can recall seeing such a thing in person was at a diner in Chicago years ago — Elly’s Pancake house on (or near) North Avenue.  The focal point of the huge diner was a brightly painted wall (originally green and later red) that was adorned with plates, and I was mesmerized.  Maybe it’s because I love food or maybe it’s because I collect dishes (probably a little bit of both), but ever since I frequented that diner with plates all over its walls I’ve been determined to create my own plate wall in my own living space.  Now that I have my own house with its own walls to fill and an ever expanding dish collection, the time has come to create my own plate wall.   I seem to have gravitated toward a blue and white color scheme for my plate wall, and after months of accumulating the perfect pieces I have created what I like to refer to as my plate wall hall of fame.  Almost each plate has a little story about how I came to find it and that’s my favorite part of collecting in general.

Here’s a little tutorial for creating the happiest thing on Earth: a plate wall.

What you need:
– PLATES (I’d suggest selecting a color scheme or theme)
– a second set of hands
– measuring tape
– Flatiron Disc Adhesive plate hangers (pictured below, can be found on Amazon and select craft stores)
– water
– small nails
– hammer
– patience

How to do it:
Start by measuring the backs of your plates (if there’s a raised ring, measure just inside the diameter of the ring) so you know what size(s) plate hangers you’ll need.

Important side note: I started my plate wall with only three plates on the wall.  So don’t be afraid you start small while you’re building your collection. Part of the fun is adding more down the road.  I will forever be on the hunt for blue and white plates  

Once you have your adhesive plate backs, just get the backs of them wet and let stand for a few minutes to allow the glue to get tacky.   Being very careful, place the gluey disc onto the back of the plate in the correct, centered or slightly off center in order for the plate to hang on the wall correctly.  If there’s a scene on the plate, just keep eyeballing the position of the disc and hold the plate up with the ring on the back right up to the wall while also cradling the plate to make sure it is going to hang correctly and straight.  This is where patience comes in.  If there’s no scene and just a random pattern on your plates, this part is a breeze.   Simply apply the discs to the backs of the plates and press down firmly (think of decoupage), making sure there are no air gaps between the disc and the plate.  I had a wet paper towel on standby to wipe off any excess glue that seeped out.  I also washed my hands after every plate because my fingers were so sticky with glue and I didn’t want to get the front of the plates tacky. Allow the plates to dry 8 hours to overnight.  This is what they’ll look like:

Once the plates are dry (or any time before this step), map out your plate wall. I know some people cut out colored paper pieces in the shapes of their plates after using the plate as a template, but I just don’t have the patience for that. The idea of a plate wall is to be a whimsical mix of plates draped across your wall, so don’t overthink it. This is where the extra set of hands come in. Have someone hold the plates up so you can stand back and look, then mark with a pencil on the wall where the tops and bottoms of the plates will be. Then measure how far down the ring of the disc plate hanger is on the back of the plate, and mark your wall so you know where to hammer in a nail. I worked on two plates at a time and nailed the nails in after I had the positioning right for a couple plates. Then I’d hang the plates and step back and figure out the placement of the next two, and so on. I like the mixture of sizes of plates that I used, and that made it really easy to place the plates. It just sort of came together because I didn’t want the plates lined up in rows. Just remember to erase the pencil marks off your wall!

That’s pretty much it. Also, I selected my dining room for my plate wall because it just seemed so appropriate, but plates look pretty on the wall of any room. A kitchen would also be an obvious choice. Now all that’s left to do is sit and stare at your beautiful plate wall!

Someone who loves shopping usually also loves finding a good deal.  I have learned that in order to appreciate a good deal, you truly have to love the hunt that leads you to the deal.  Most of my hunting occurs at my local Goodwill store.  Once a skeptic and non-believer, I’m now a fairly recognizable shopper at my local establishment.  I’m still not sure if I should feel proud or uncomfortable about this fact, but all of the employees I chat with at my store are super friendly and helpful.  If they are rolling their eyes at me each time I walk through the doors (typically two to three times a week), they’re at least giving me the courtesy of doing so behind my back.

In the midst of the holiday craziness of the month of December, I still managed to pop into the Goodwill about twice a week.  I will tell you, shopping for deals at the Goodwill requires two things (and they are absolutely mandatory): patience and time (even just a few spare minutes).  I will usually stop into my local store during my lunch hour during the week, just to get a feel for anything new on the shelves.  I always try to know what’s new or old and that helps a lot.  On a random Tuesday visit, all of the Christmas décor was 50% off so I spent a couple extra minutes really scouring that section, just in case, and it paid off.  I found an adorable, mini boxwood wreath for $4.50.  Now, this may seem like a simple little wreath, but the backstory is that I’d been looking for one to hang in my house above my kitchen window ever since I saw a photo of one on Pinterest a couple months ago, and that’s what makes this score so special.  The unexpected twist is that I received a beautiful, custom wreath hanger from a dear friend for Christmas, and since the wreath hanger was so nice I couldn’t imagine hanging it outside.  I have the perfect spot in the interior of my house for a mini boxwood wreath and hanger: a narrow closet door in my living room.

I recently came across a half-forgotten bag of sweet potatoes in the veggie crisper drawer of my fridge (the drawer is not clear and therefore typically empty for this very reason).  To my surprise, the potatoes were in good shape so I immediately felt the need to make something with them.  Always looking for an excuse to add a fried egg to a recipe, I decided to make a hash of sorts with the sweet potatoes and anything else I had on hand in my fridge.  The result was simple, but delicious, and something I’d make again for breakfast (this recipe was actually made for dinner).

What I used:
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ purple onion, chopped
1 roll breakfast sausage (I used traditional, but you could use the hot & spicy or maple flavored)
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 eggs

How I made it:
I crumbled the breakfast sausage and cooked it over medium high heat in a frying pan on the stove.  While this was cooking and I was occasionally continuing to crumble the sausage, I cubed up my peeled sweet potatoes and chopped the purple onion.  Once the sausage was fully cooked I transferred it to a paper towel lined bowl.  In the same frying pan that I cooked the sausage in, I added the cubed sweet potatoes and cooked on medium high heat to get a golden brown crust.  Because the sweet potatoes were cubed, they don’t take very long to cook through.  Once the potatoes were browned I added the chopped purple onion (I waited to add these because I didn’t want them to be completely overcooked).  When the sweet potato cubes were fork tender, I added the sausage back to the pan to heat everything back up together and fried 2 eggs over easy in a small sauté pan.

Over-easy is the only way I’ve ever known how to prepare a fried egg and I think it’s the absolute best way to prepare such an egg.  Just add your egg to melted butter over medium heat, let it cook like you are making a sunny-side-up egg, add salt and pepper to the yolk side, and once fully cooked on the bottom, flip once and turn the heat off completely.  Allow the second side of the egg to warm through and just become set.  The result:  a runny yolk in a perfectly cooked fried egg.  Served in a Fiestaware deep plate, I topped the sweet potato hash with the over-easy egg.  Once cut, the runny yolk of the egg ties the entire dish together.