money is the gift I would give- with a suggestion that they use it to enjoy themselves. Being a poor grad student is no fun .
save spending $ on kitchen items for when they register.
I second the idea of classic earrings, something with a small drop (Pearl?). When I saw Phantom Thread, she was wearing the loveliest earrings in almost every scene. I might match the color to that of the ring.
Does she have student loans? Depending on the amount, maybe you could offer to pay one month’s worth?
Since she likes to cook, maybe a crock pot. Once she starts working, it will be nice to have something ready to eat when they get home from work. You can buy one that fits the size of their apartment.
Given how bent out of shape the gf’s parent is about the pearls, I would avoid jewelry. What if she wears the earrings you give her and it upsets the parent? On a side note, I wanted to give my D pearls for her UG graduation and she said she would NEVER wear them, so I didn’t buy them.
The best gift I gave one of my kids (and the kid agreed) was a new wallet. Inside the wallet, I put five gift cards. In my kid’s case, they were $100 cards to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Express, Target and Home Depot.
You could get a small wallet…and do gift cards customized to this young woman. And they could certainly be smaller amounts. If she likes to cook…how bout Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Penzeys, and BBB (you could include a coupon too).
^ This is an awesome idea and one I’m going to borrow
Spices is a nice idea. Penzeys has gift boxes and we have a local store that has all kinds for all kinds of cooking tastes.