Because after years of making fun of DJ and his spreadsheets, I’m now a devotee. You just laughed, didn’t you!?
Regardless, registering for gifts in the middle of a recession is kind of hard to stomach. I mean, DJ and I are actually thriving in this recession. We sold his condo for a (very small) profit, built a house with all of the high end amenities we never thought we’d be able to afford, and have been able to travel extensively in the last year. There are a lot of Americans who had a much worse 2009.
So waltzing into a store and setting up a gift list with a value over $1,000 is kind of… well, tricky, emotionally for me. I mean, we already have so much stuff. Both of us lived alone before shacking up, so we really have all the necessities, sometimes in pairs. How does one navigate the tricky ground of asking your recession-impacted friends and family to travel to the backwoods of North Idaho and then give you a gift too!?
Well, my grandma ordered me to set up a registry, so we will. Us Heitstuman women, we’re opinionated.
Asking for gifts, especially in my practical family, begs the question, what do we need?
So you’re saying we need to inventory our whole house and kitchen, huh?
We already have a set of china that DJ’s dad picked up during his time in the Army in Korea. It’s not a totally complete set, as some of it has been broken. I’ll probably try to replace pieces some day, but we will not be registering for china.
My mom gave me a set of every day utensils when I went to grad school. Its fine, the set is complete, and I think we’re good on the everyday utensil front.
I would, however, like to register for crystal or some other version of nice glass wear. I’m down with pint glasses for daily use, but our Thanksgiving table looked a little college-esque with the pint glasses:
Fancy pint glasses? Check. Fancy non-matching wine/ whiskey/ champagne glasses? Check. Table cloth? oh..... Shit.
We do need a nice water pitcher, wine and water glasses or crystal, champagne flutes, and vases. We have no vases in the house, which indicates how often either of us brings flowers home!
We will go overboard on registering for new kitchen tools, gadgets and small appliances though. We’ve both been eyeing Kitchen Aid mixers. And all of the gadgets that come with it. Toasters, pots and pans, and a grown up coffee pot are all things we’ll ask for too. We’re foodies, who love to cook, so useful stuff is on our list.
Oh, helloooooooooo you'll look nice in our black and white and red kitchen!
As for other traditional registry items, we do need new bedroom stuff. Principally, a new bed. Can we register for that? We’ll eventually buy a new queen bed, and our current one will move into the guest room. I’d like to register for new bedding though, and to prevent the down comforter tug-of-war we’ve been having this winter, we’ll register for a king size comforter to use on our queen sized bed!
New towels, bathroom carpets, etc. will all be part of the registry. The kick here is that I haven’t exactly thought out a decorating scheme for our brand new master bathroom and guest bathroom. I kind of like the sage green we have going in the guest bath… but the master bath, with its emerald green granite, is hard for me to tab down. White? More tan?
We are boring, boring decorators. Such neutral people.
Other registry items will revolve around the house. Deck furniture. Porch swing. Lawnmower. Window washings. Living room area rug. Gardening rake.
Did I just get too practical with those items? Does anyone else have a hard time creating a gift registry when guests are strapped for cash?
Also, does Costco do registries? We’re Costco people.
Are you overwhelmed yet? Because I am!
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