Denny, don’t take the brown one to Woodstock.
Ha! You win the thread as far as the goofiest special/everyday item! 
(I used to drive an old car - but a beater. I know how crazy some folk get about authenticity!)
What kayaker said. Not because I’m afraid of breaking them in use, per se, but they are a pain in the ass to clean. Handwash, one at a time, nothing else in the sink or nearby, being very careful. Other glasses are about as good, more durable, and with a lower replacement cost should accidents happen, so I use those usually instead.
Company’s coming over, OTOH? Use the good china and crystal. It’s better aesthetically (functionally too, if we’re talking about teacups) and you only go around once, why not enjoy it?
They are “flow blue” but they are not “Blue Willow,” as the two categories can overlap but aren’t synonymous. (I was too lazy to find the exact pattern before, but here is a picture of exactly the dishes I inherited - as you can see, that’s not Blue Willow.)
Not sure where my parents got the idea that they were Blue Willow. Obviously, they did not know what Blue Willow means. (They also thought the goblets were incredibly valuable, which they are not.)
A friend who dabbles in antique dealing thinks that they were probably hoodwinked by disreputable sellers when they were a young couple shopping for interesting pieces to decorate their home with. They shared a love of antiques, though no special knowledge, so an enterprising dealer probably talked a good story and they bought it, both literally and figuratively.
It’s only because of the internet that I know any better. I believed everything my parents said until I got curious to know more and educated myself on line.
It doesn’t matter to me at all that the pieces aren’t financially valuable - they ARE old, and they have lots of memories for me, so I’m happy.
That’s very cool. If I were to start collecting something now, it would probably be Bakelite objects.
BBQ Guns are a thing. Not something I understand, but different things for different people. The engraving and inlays on fine firearms can be absolutely amazing to see.
If you’re ever in Houston, Texas, and looking at fine artistic work on guns is something that might appeal to you, I highly recommend stopping inside of Collectors Firearms new showroom. It’s huge. (They took over a space that used to be a large Barnes and Noble.) If you’ve ever wanted to pick up a Purdey double rifle, inlaid with gold and ivory, depicting a Cape Buffalo hunt, that’s your place. I’ve never bought anything from them—it’s more a museum than a store, unless you need that one gun—but it’s still a great place to windowshop.
Your flow blue dishes are beautiful! I have two different ones-thrift ship treasures-adorning my 1880s mantel.
Thanks for the BBQ guns link. I enjoyed learning about those.
This is pretty much me.
Other than barware, the good stuff gets used all the time.
Partally because over the years we got rid of the truly exquisite impractical stuff like fine china wedding gifts as unusably fussy and also got rid of lots of bought for cheap at Penney’s. So what’s left is pretty uniformly nice to very-nice by our standards.
As to barware in general its’s just the really tall extra delicate glasses that wait for special occasions.
As to wine glasses specifically, I’ve become a real fan of things like this:
https://www.riedel.com/en-us/shop/o-wine-tumbler/cabernet-041400098
Riedel is nice quality, but the lack of the stem makes them far safer for clumsy drinkers whether sober, wasted, or anywhere in between. You can bump them pretty good without tipping or breaking them. It also wastes less wine that way. 
Monday = least favorite clothes for work.
Friday = most favorite/comfortable.
That’s about it for me.
I see the utility, but fingerprints on the bowl would bug me, and I don’t know if your fingers would warm the wine appreciably. Maybe not.
Agreed that Riedel is rather overpriced for what you get, and I find their stems more fragile than similar ones from Schott-Zweisel or Spiegelau. It may be psychological. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they’re all made in the same factory in Central Germany and given different brand names, but that’s been my experience. I managed to get a bunch of old ‘restaurant quality’ Vinum Burg and Bord stems from a liquidation sale, and those work well. Lots cheaper too than the ridiculous 35-55 a stem they cost new, now.
Still really like my Sommelier stems though.
Hot fingers would be an issue for sure while drinking a white at a standing-around style cocktail party. Given that I live in hot Florida and when at home I and the guests are 90+% sitting with a table to hand, it’s not a big issue; whites warm too quickly whether touched by grubby hands or not.
The fingerprints / palmprints are a detractor. But the fix is super easy. Just take off your reading glasses and those disappear too. 
Agree that high end restaurant-ware is the best trick. Made to be super-durable while looking plenty elegant enough.
We currently have a den and formal living room at my home. The living room furniture was more expensive and rarely used. It looks almost new.
The den furniture shows a lot of wear and stains from raising a family. We haven’t resorted to throwing a bed spread over it. Yet!
We’ll down size in the next few years. The den furniture will be given away. Our new and smaller home will probably have a single multi purpose family room. I’d like to sell the formal living room furniture. Buy some comfortable new stuff for our later years. Two recliners will be needed. 
But that decision has to be made by my wife and I.
My FIL brought my MIL a Wedgewood china set decades ago. In the 37 years I’ve been part of this family, I think she’s used it twice. When we visited them recently, I happened to open a cabinet and saw one of the plates broken in half on the shelf. I’m sure he spent a lot of money on the set way back then, but it’s mostly been a dust-collector, and none of their sons want it. She specifically asked me if I’d like it after she dies, and I declined. I don’t need another dust collector.
On the other hand, my mother has a couple of sets of honest-to-goodness silver. Even when I was a kid, she would have us use it frequently, saying there was no sense in having something she didn’t use. The only difference between that and the everyday flatware was that we had to account for all the pieces before the trash went out. Lesson learned after she lost a spoon.
Every day is a special day with scotch and wine.
And I hear you about the china - the super nice stuff I have sounds similar to yours: hand-painted, gold rim, etc. But if I’ve got to handwash it, I’m not gonna use it unless I really want to. Plus, we were given four sets and I refuse to purchase more. AND, I tend to break most things I touch.