This is the mug Dan got me for Christmas. When I gave him my Chiristmas list, my demands were as follows:
-Must be handmade
-Prefferably from Etsy
-Must be unique or quirky in some way
-Must be able to hold at least 14oz of liquid
-Must have a lid
All things considered, Dan got me a pretty a awesome mug. But I do need a lid. You see, one of the very first things I learned about being an innkeeper is that you should never expect to have a hot meal or drink between 1pm and 7pm. At least not if you're me. I have the absolute worst luck. I'll make soup and a sandwich or pour a cup of coffee or even just microwave a burrito and invariably, the second I sit down to eat, I'll get a check-in, a walk-in, a complicated 20 minute phone call, or some other crisis. Cold coffee and a a soggy, room-temperature grilled cheese do not a good meal make. Bleh.
So I set out to find a lid. I contacted the potter that made my mug, and she said that it would cost $10 plus shipping to make it and she couldn't guarantee it would fit. Bleh. I contacted another potter to see if he had a better price. Nope. He blatantly refused to do it, stating that it was too difficult.
So I decided to look for a universal lid. Something that I could just throw over my mug to give the coffee another 10 or 15 minutes of life, even if it didn't fit perfectly or match the mug.
And I found it! This fantastic, affordable, quirky website had a silicone (which I believe is a biodegradable material, but am currently researching) lid that was made to fit all mug sizes, was air tight, and was only $4! Yay! After finding that, I decided I might as well grab something else to offset the $6 shipping. I found this great little travel size metal spoon/fork/chopstick set. What a great way to avoid plastic utensils when dining on the road! And it was only $6! What a deal!
I submitted the transaction and waited for my beautiful, ecological, awesome, earth-friendly goodies to come. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Two and a half weeks later, I started to worry that I had been scammed. So I went to the website and hit the FAQ.
Ugh. Turns out that my wonderfully inexpensive, quirky online store was in Hong Kong. And my "beautiful, ecological, awesome, earth-friendly goodies" were being flown to the United States via air mail. I may as well have just poked a hole in the ozone layer myself! Ahh!
A week later, my package arrived:
And of course, it was in a plastic bubble envelope and not a cardboard box. *Sigh*But there was good news! First of all, the utensil set was/is amazing and has already gotten used several times. And the lid? Fits like a glove. Totally air-tight and keeps my coffee toasty. Best of all, it perfectly reflects the way I felt about this whole messy transaction:
(Yes, that's right, there is a tiny, angry little man on my lid. He's actually the handle. Awesome.)With Love,
~Brande N.
2 comments:
I almost went to Hong Kong this year. :-P I know, weird, right? I love saying that so flippantly..."yeah, I almost went to Hong Kong." Haha. A friend of mine at work was going and really did not want to go alone. We talked for a couple months about me going with her but ultimately my student loans proved to be too much financial burden, and alas I could not afford the airfare to China. :( I was very sad. She was able to find someone else to go with, though, so at least I don't feel like I ruined her trip too.
Your lid is awesome....I totally dig the little blue guy. :)
Aw! Tragic! You'll get to go someday. And if not to Hong Kong, then someplace even better. Patience is a virtue and virtues are rewarded, right?
On the package that the lid came in, the company was identified as "Little Devil Inc". It wasn't until then that I noticed his little devil horns!
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