Monday, May 23, 2011

Mission Impossible: Operation Registry

Registering for gifts is like a grown-ups version of a dream Christmas list.  When else do you get to single-handedly hand pick what you want to be gifted for a party where you are the guest of honor??  So while BM Sweet Cream shrieked with glee after hearing that me & Mr. Sweets were going to register, I wasn't that thrilled inside. 

Why the crazy talk you ask?

Because me & Mr. Sweet Cream were up against Mission Impossible.


Mr. Sweet Cream & me hopefully didn't look as crazy as Tom & Keri
zapping barcodes... although we might have felt this way.

I'm sure that many of you Bees may be cohabiting like Me & Mr. Sweets.  We originally didn't plan it that way -- but that's for a different day, different post.

So we have tons of things that we would have registered for -- but we already bought it ourselves.  Like our Dyson that we found on clearance at Target after the vacuum we originally got from a second hand shop died after it ate way too many our Christmas tree needles.  And our grill that we had to get to kick off last summer.

But the bigger problem? I am a mid-century, antiquing junkie.  

So years before the Sweets bought their first home, there were boxes and boxes of dishware, serving pieces, glasses, coffee cups, bakeware, gadgets & gizmos -- all created between the decades of World War II and the era of Gloria Steinem -- up in Mama & Papa Sweet Cream's attic.  Think of it as a hope chest on steroids. 
OK. It wasn't this bad... but it was really really bad.

So I already have my fair share of Salem North Star plates:

When I pull out one of these plates and serve a 
homemade piece of pie to Mr. Sweets, my heart smiles

And this is my favorite pattern of all my bowls & casseroles.

Seriously.  How can you not be happy when
serving something in this pattern?!

I have a mixed collection of real silverware from the 20th century that I love and a whole buffet-server full of serving pieces...So, with two things up against us (co-habitating and said addiction to mid-century kitchen items -- heck all mid-century items to tell you the truth!), Mr. Sweet Cream and I began to think about what we could register for.

We hung a piece of looseleaf on the side of the refrigerator and as we realized something we could use, we would jot it down.  Although it happened slowly... a full piece stainless steel pot and pan set here, a 10 cup food processor there, it got easier when we visited the store.  With guns in hands we said "YES!" to a folding banquet table that we realized we could need for hosting sit down dinner holidays to our two families.  We gave high-fives to each other after finding the patio furniture that we lusted over -- and immediately took aim at the bar code.  We started figuring out things that we could use... in all price ranges for all of our guests.

Throughout our registering at Target, Home Depot & Kohl's we registered for great things, including:
  • A smoker
  • New Sheets
  • Tons of brand new bath towels
  • a Pizza stone
  • Grill accessories
  • A Brita waterfilter
  • 16 mini dessert shot glasses
  • a Heating Lamp for outside
  • a collapsable grill for tailgating (Go Phillies!)
  • Massaging shower head
  • Great new door mats for outside
  • a new mailbox
  • a ceiling fan for our bedroom
  • Etc. Etc. Etc.
I was insistant on not letting that gun own us and not giving in to a desire to zap everything and anything in sight.  I wanted us to think of the suggestions for our guests as if we would really buy it.  

And while I would love to register somewhere like Amazon.com, knowing our guest list, I don't know how many people would use it.   I know that a lot of Bees register for their honeymoons -- which is a great idea -- but we aren't going through a travel agent.

I am going to try not to cheat and look at what is bought in the days that lead up to my shower. I love a surprise so I think I'll be good.

Did you have a hard time thinking about what to register for?  Did your co-habitating lead you to have needs and wants already crossed off?  What is your top registry item that you are hoping you get at your shower?  Did you register somewhere out-of-the-ordinary -- like a sport good store or favorite charity?  

[NOTE to brides near a Kohl's: Although not an original thought-of store for registering, they have a ton of kitchen appliance we needed -- and give our guests 15% off our gifts!  So they are like giving our guests a gift (of a discount) for buying us gifts! Very nice, Kohl's! Very nice!]



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