<p>Also purchase two big st stl Cuisinart skillets about 5 years ago–which have subseqeuntly been redesigned and are not at all as good. Boooo. Avoid the new ones.</p>
<p>I also like the titanium pans–but forgot the manuf on my big two handled wok/skillet. Will report later.</p>
<p>you know, i do’nt know how relevant this is, however i am going to a wedding in two weeks and I printed out their registry at target and i have to say i barely knew what half of the stuff was on there! I said to my boyfriend that when i have to make one of these things i won’t even know where to start.</p>
<p>i’m so confused with what i will even put on there, considering i already have pots and pans and bakewear and all that stuff. I guess that would be a chance to get nicer, newer stuff?</p>
Mollie, do you think you might reconsider this? What seems to be a useless expense when you are in your 20’s can be very much appreciated when you are in your 40’s. We actually do use our wedding china, which is a fairly unique kind of stoneware. Since then, I’ve purchased very fine china and waterford crystal over the years – but I must admit to a “china fetish.” I love dishes! But your wedding is one time when you can really select a lovely pattern and add to it over the years. Something by Royal Doulton or Waterford or whatever is timeless – it’s also nice for guests when a couple chooses a china/crystal pattern. I almost always give at least a place setting, and feel that it’s an appropriate gift. Just a thought! Here’s one pattern that I think is lovely. <a href=“http://www.placesettings.com/roydoulton_baroness.htm[/url]”>http://www.placesettings.com/roydoulton_baroness.htm</a></p>
<p>To put in a plug for the Irish, Waterford never discontinues a pattern (or so I hear). I only have five stems, but it gives me a lot of joy to know that my D. will be able to add to the set and hand it down, even though my pattern is not one of the popular ones.</p>
<p>Or, you could plan a future trip to Ireland, and buy it there! My mother started us off with our pattern after we’d been married for a few years (we didn’t register for it at our wedding – didn’t think we’d use it!). For several years, both H and I received a couple of glasses for birthdays, Christmas or whatever. We finally traveled to Ireland, where we bought the champagne flutes and water goblets. Whenever we use them, I think of that trip.</p>
<p>Fendergirl, yes it is a chance to get nicer, newer stuff. As Sjmom says, it doesn’t seem to make much sense now, but it will in your 40s. It is also good for some wonderful candlelit dinners, even if you are eating hot dogs.
If you are having trouble identifying everyday things that you want, consider everyday linens, storage pieces, plastic “glassware” for grilling, registering at Lowe’s or Home Depot, how about a good air mattress?</p>
<p>i mean, i’m not making a registry right now. i’m not even engaged yet. i just was thinking that as we were shopping for things off of my friends registry. like, most of the things on there i had already. except she was asking for caphalon stuff, which was $$$. i guess she’s just asking for better things. we wound up getting her some of the smaller things and we’re going to put them together in one box to give her. i didn’t know what any of the bigger things were, haha. </p>
<p>the thing that gets me is, how many people even use the stuff they get at their wedding? When i got my apartment at college, i went out to buy cups/glasses for my kitchen, and my mom told me not to worry about it and she came down from the attic and gave me a box of 24 glasses, never used or opened and she said didn’t like them based on their design on the box. i asked her where it was from and she said it was a wedding gift. i absolutely did not like the glasses either, i hated the shape and design of them, the sizes were weird, however we did use them for two years at school just because they were free. my roommates broke half a dozen of them. I just thought it was hilarious that they had been on her attic for over twenty years… and i never mentioned them to anyone because i didn’t want to offend anyone for her if it turned out they were the person that gave her those glasses. I guess that’s something I can put on my registry when it’s time, nicer glasses that I actually like. :)</p>
<p>and i know how mollie feels, about the china. my aunt and uncle have this big cabinet in their one room with their expensive china in it, and i’ve never seen it touched. every time i’m there i think to myself that i dont’ want something like that which will just sit around and take up space. i would much rather use that spot to put a bookshelf and fill it with books or something that i would actually use.</p>
<p>We use our silverware every night. The fancy dishes on holidays and birthdays. I’d use it more if I could put it in the dishwasher. I got some vases that I use all the time. I’m still using the napkins and placemats (mostly because we got so many and used table clothes when the kids were little.) Nearly all the glasses broke, but we still have a complete set of margarita glasses and two out of four champagne flutes. Somethings fell apart. We got a couple of nice trays that got damaged. (Our fault.) Oh and I use the good knives my sister in law gave me every single day.</p>
This is how my mom’s good china is too – the only thing it’s ever been used for was for tea parties for my dolls. :)</p>
<p>I just don’t feel like fine china is something we need at this time. We’re definitely going to be living in apartments for at least the next five years, so I’d rather just buy a set when we get a house, if we feel at that point that we need a set. </p>
<p>Maybe we are too practical for our own good. :)</p>
<p>I regret not having registered for fine china and flatware when I was married years ago. At the time I wasn’t particularly interested. Of course, my tastes have changed. This is the china I love now:</p>
<p>I may buy an old set of silver from Ebay one of these days. The problem is that when you have kids it’s hard to spend money on nonessentials.</p>
<p>I do have about 10 pieces of Waterford crystal that I bought years ago on a trip to Ireland. Like you, conyat, I have an unpopular pattern (Kenmare). I love it.</p>
<p>Mollie, it’s so great that you and your honey are so practical. May as well get the maximum use out of your gifts rather than have them in a display cabinet.</p>
<p>I feel the same way about the “formal living room” that no-one is allowed into, even entertaining is done in the family room which is usually larger and friendlier. So why have it?</p>
<p>Mollie, you know what’s best for you and your fiance. The only thing I’ll mention, though, is that you won’t always be in an apartment. Hopefully, someday you’ll own a house with lots of rooms to fill! But if you’re like most people, you’ll be busy spending your money on mortgage payments, furniture, landscaping, cars, college accounts for kids etc. There will always be something with a higher priority than fine china or crystal. It’s not the end of the world, but sometimes it’s nice to have what you need for a more formal dinner with a colleague, or other special occasion. </p>
<p>Finally, you’ll probably have a lot of guests at your wedding and showers. What else will they give you? You can only use so many pots and pans, appliances or whatever. As I said earlier, it feels like a favor to me when a couple registers for china – it makes shopping for the wedding gift very simple. You can register at stores like Macy’s, which are all over the country, or an online company like Ross Simons. As I said, I’m just trying to give you an alternative point of view – best wishes and have a great time with your upcoming showers and wedding! :)</p>
<p>Just wanted to add, that I LOVE that china pattern, NYMomof2! Also, we always have to have a formal living room, with room for the grand piano. It only holds the piano, a smallish sofa and a couple of tables, but I don’t know what we’d do if we only had a great room. I just wish we had a way to close the room off when we want to watch TV!</p>
<p>mollie, I think you are right about the china. One thing to keep in mind is that your tastes may change and in five or ten years when you are ready to buy a set of Lenox or Wedgewood or whatever you may be really glad you did not select a pattern earlier. At this point it sounds as though it would just be something to have to pack and unpack as you move, and space is likely to be a factor in apartments. I do think it’s a good idea to have fairly inexpensive, attractive, and reasonably durable dishes though–I guess earthenware/stoneware of some kind. They might be a good addition to the registry. Companies like Johnson Brothers used to make all sorts of patterns in a variety of styles from plain white to floral to striped, and I imagine such companies still exist, though I have been less pleased with recent purchases from companies like Mikasa than I was with my first Johnson Brothers set. In any case, it’s easy to dress up a set of basic dishes with a nice tablecloth and so on if you are entertaining in a more formal way, and you still have the benefit of having dishwasher-safe dishes that don’t cost a fortune. Varous kinds of glassware may be more useful than china if you want to add items to the list. but like china, crystal takes up a lot of storage space and tastes change.</p>
<p>If you are having a lot of guests and feel there may nto be enough on your list, they can always give checks, which you’ll then have for future purchases. </p>
<p>I am ambivalent about silverware, but again, it’s a matter of taste. I never registered for any and to this day I do not have a set of sterling flatware, but I do have my grandmother’s silverplate, which we use for holiday or other notable dinners and have to wash and dry by hand. It’s a nice link with the past at this point and quite pretty–and looks nice on the table.</p>
<p>There was an interesting article in last Wednesday’s NY Times about basic kitchen equipment–surprisingly basic–you might want to go online and look at ti if you have not seen it. I think it was Mark Bittman’s column in the Dining In/Dining Out section.</p>
<p>One of my greatest treasures is my grandmothers silver and great grandmothers crystal, you never know what the future will be, it becomes part of your family history.</p>
<p>Mollie–what a lovely thread! And there STILL haven’t been any surly battles about my-pots-are-the-ONLY-correct-ones! We’re going to be celebrating our 25th anniv this summer. D asked me not too long ago about what things in my kitchen were original gifts from our wedding. Actually, not very much! But, my Le Creuset pots (the oval pot, and 3 sizes of the round ones with lids) are the mainstay. I still have (but rarely use) the pans with the wood handles. I don’t use them often, because I don’t wash them in the dishwasher (and if it doesn’t go in the dishwasher, it doesn’t get used )
I do have a couple of Farberware sauce pans (and double boiler/steamer) that I use. I love the Le Creuset skillets, but they really are heavy—found that a couple of small skillets (omelette size) that I’ve picked up along the way get used the most. </p>
<p>Way back then, we didn’t register for fine china or silver, mostly because I didn’t think we’d use them, and I knew that most of the people who were invited to our wedding wouldn’t dream of paying that much money for a place setting. I registered for Pfalzgraff Heritage dishes, (they were the ones that were all white)–we have always used them as our “nice” dishes. They’ve been very functional, and since they were all white, they could be dressed up with the tablecloth/placemat/flowers choices. I also know that any fine china designs we would have chosen then would not be what we’d choose today. </p>
<p>A lot of it depends on what kind of person you really are. We’ve been through the years of corporate entertaining, etc. and I refused to stress out about it. We’re down-to-earth-people, and even when we hosted 75+ of H’s management staff/families, I always, always kept it informal…fancy paper plates were as elegant as I got. :)</p>
<p>Sjmom, I’m glad you like “my” china! Maybe one of these days I will have it.</p>
<p>A nice alternative to formal china is made by Villeroy and Boch. Their pieces are very durable, dishwasher-safe, etc., and some patterns have a formal look. I know people who have one set of their dishes and use it for everything. I would have bought it, but at the time they didn’t have a pattern I liked.</p>
<p>At the moment I am using Mikasa English Countryside. Beware! It chips like crazy. </p>
<p>Mikasa does chip, but my Garden Harvest lasted 10 years. We filled in a few pcs. here and there. We now have their Arabella pattern, which took some getting used to on my part (H really liked it). We use our Mikasa as everyday dishes.</p>
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