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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Marry Me and Get Stuff

Puff and I have been married for just over two and a half years. We've lived together for 3 1/2 years. It's amazing what happens when you mix and match and mash up together your collective STUFF. (That would be why our living room looks nothing like anything I would ever live in, but the rest of the house is slowly becoming more my style.)

Anyhoo... over on YHL, a few months back, they posted about the top things they use and don't use from their wedding registry. As my friends Lisa & Abby are the next on the list to tie the knot (both in 2013) I thought I would revisit those days of trolling the aisles of Bed, Bath, & Beyond and trying to wrestle the gun away from Puff at Macy's.

My unsolicited wedding registry advice and random chatter...

(1) People will insist you register at multiple stores. I don't know why we bothered because we got almost nothing from our Macy's registry and we had registered there for stuff we didn't really like all that much anyway. Although if you get something in the mail to register at Target and get a free gift card just for registering, go for it. I did it online and then deleted it after we got the free card!

(2) Take inventory before you go of what you really need. The "suggestion lists" and the sales people will try to steer you toward expensive china and silver. We're not china and silver people. We also have a small kitchen in The Bungalow, so lots of big fancy gadgets were a no-go. If you don't bake now, you probably won't bake after the wedding. That big fancy stand mixer I just had to have? I've used it twice.
 
(3) Think for the long haul. Don't go too trendy. Plain white dishes are the way to go. I remember my parent's had dishes that had a nice 70s rust-colored ring around the edge. And glassware with birds and flowers on them. We also went with khaki and brown solid colored towels, beige rugs for the bathroom, and stainless steel pots & pans.
 
(4) Be sure to register for a wide range of price points. Some people will want to get you a few spatulas and dish towels, while others will splurge on a fancy set of sheets. I grew up with whatever sheets were cute and affordable. I actually never knew there was a real honest difference in thread count until after we got married. Puff had insisted on expensive sheets and we got both sets we registered for. And they are wonderful!
 
(5) Whatever you do, don't go to register on a weekend. Aim for a Monday or Tuesday evening, after work. Trust me on this... it will be much less crowded and therefore, much less stressful!
 
So, with all that being said, what do we get the most use out of that we registered for? Well... probably all the super practical things like towels and bathroom rugs and those white dishes and plain everyday drinking glasses. What should we have skipped? That stand mixer for sure, although maybe when Bimmer is older we'll have some fun baking cookies from scratch together. Also, anything party or serving related. We should have known better... lots of serving dishes and fancy lasagna servers and chip-dip trays were a waste. They haven't been used. Although, I have hope that eventually we'll have a bigger house that is more condusive to entertaining.
 
In the meantime, I will just sit back and enjoy my stainless steel toaster and bamboo paper towel holder. And be thankful for all the gifts we received and for the fact that we were able to use those gifts (our favorite gift being cash, of course!!!) to make The Bungalow feel like home.

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