We were on a wedding planning roll on our Florida trip and in the following week. We felt like we were on it. We had to-dos. Then we signed contracts. Then we got out of planning mode altogether. I don't know what it is. I have felt personally resistant to doing any kind of work on any of it. Maybe I was bitten by the "we've-got-time" bug. Whatever it is, we want to get decisions made early and we're hurting only ourselves by avoiding.
When we planned our weekend in New York we had more want-to-dos on our list than we had time (or meals) to do them. We only had a couple must-dos. Chief among them: starting our registry at Bloomingdale's. {yes, we have tons of time but people are starting to ask so we may as well at least start}
We decided Monday would be best since it's the last day of the weekend and, like Sunday, we know we like to be a little more low-key knowing it's our last free day. So, filled and fueled by a delicious meal from one of our favorite brunch spots, we took to 59th and 3rd to the registry department.
Immediately, I was intimidated. "Hi, do you have an appointment?" the girl at the front desk asked. {no. we're supposed to?} "No, we don't." "Okay, fortunately we should be able to get you right in. Nathalie will help you, she should be back in a few minutes." {who would have thought you needed an appointment to scan stuff on your own in a store}
The front room wasn't very big, and there we sat with three other couples. While we waited I surveyed our peers {though "peers" might be a stretch}. One couple seemed a little older than us. Another, already married toting bags of returns. The last were the ones that got me.
He was sprawled out on the couch. One arm on the arm the other stretched over the back. Leg crossed, foot-on-knee style, taking up space. He had glasses. Overly styled hair {i don't like it when it appears that the man has stood in front of the mirror for any significant amount of time and this guy was more than sporting that look.} He wore khakis and a button-down with an oversized watch. His demeanor said he owned the place. Her ring said they could. At least three karats. Oval cut. Flanked by two yellow diamonds. It was pretty. I would had liked it if not for the smug air that clung to these people. She had just popped back into the room from scanning a new item. She commented that that item alone was $760. He nodded. The kind of knocking his head back that said par for the course. He had the air of someone that would refer to others as "the help". He made my skin crawl.
Then Nathalie came and took us back. We gave her our basic details: date, approximate guest count. She talked us through some of the highlights of our bag and suggested we pick one room to start with. We figured we could do the dining room and kitchen. We're pretty sure of ourselves in those areas. I get David to look at china whenever we go into a department store so china is where we'd start.
He likes something simple. I like something with a bit more character. Fun. Whimsical. While still being adult and timeless. We looked at china for a half hour or more before Nathalie came out to check on us. We narrowed down the designer we liked and knew we were interested in mixing and matching. We had pulled a few collections over to the trial table to see how they worked together. Our dinner plates would be the most simple. We'd accent from there with a slight pattern. The problem was both the patterns worked well with the base and we weren't pulled one way or the other. That's where Nathalie comes in, loaded with all sorts of crazy logic. She went in the back and pulled out a second set of the basic collection and arranged two place settings, each accented with a different pattern. Did we like them side by side? Yes, for a large dinner party the alternating patterns would be fun. Different. Then with smaller groups we had options. What a simple solution.Then she pulled out the coordinating serve wear. Cream and sugar bowls, platters, serving bowls. It was all too much. We said we'd come back to it and moved on to flatware.
We picked up every fork and knife in the room. If we liked the look, we didn't like the weight. The things that felt good in the hand were not the style we were after. We held the sterling {not returnable. FYI}. There were styles we liked and the weight is just right. The issue here lies in the price. Nearly $500 for one 5 piece set. Seriously? We would never. If we would buy it ourselves we are surely not going to ask someone else to. {We have since found some online that we like. Now we just have to find it to see how it feels in hand.}
By this point I was entirely overwhelmed by the decision making. Nathalie did remind us that if we got our china and changed our minds we could always bring it back. It took a bit of pressure off, but I prefer to get it right the first time.
Instead of going room by room we decided to simply follow the floor around and thought luggage should be a simple stop. We only wanted a couple of pieces. We started at one brand but soon found ourselves happy with another, less expensive, but as reliable option. Just as we were about to scan the salesman told us that the line was being discontinued and to stick with the big brands {as it turns out said line does not appear to be being discontinued by the designer. it is possible Bloomingdale's no longer plans to carry it} So back to our first likes. Scanned. In and out and time for the next stop.
Kitchen? Where's it at? Let's just look at the crystal. It may be a reach but it doesn't hurt to add it. No? Just a couple of pieces.
Then we found the kitchen. We have long known what brand cookware we want. Picking the pieces is a different story. We cook all the time. What the heck do we use? I think we're confident in our selections. Maybe? We can always go back. We need to do more anyway. Next up, cast iron. Just a few pieces. What will be most useful? That was pretty quick and painless.
Next electrics? I like to do research on these kinds of things. We need a new toaster oven {one of our most used kitchen tools, currently on it's last leg}. I know exactly which one I want. But with the pressure the name completely escaped me. Then David's phone was being slow and refused to pull up the page. We'll have to add it later {we have}. Okay, we'll just come back to electrics. We can do knives.
All we had to do was hold a couple from the set we've been eyeing. Unfortunately kitchen is a very popular {read lots of customers} and understaffed floor. When we were finally able to flag down a registry consultant she had to wrangle a key from someone on the floor to unlock the knives. Then she had to wrestle with a temperamental lock. When we finally got to hold them we were happy. There are a few more that they didn't have in the store to scan that we will want in our block. We'll add them next time. And they didn't have a knife block for the loose knives. Only the sets. We'll have to add it at Crate and Barrel.
With all that I was burnt out. I felt like I'd been running a race and there was still so much left to do. We didn't look at glassware, we gave up on serve ware. We didn't get to bakeware or any kitchen accessories. That's only kitchen and dining! Then there are bedrooms and bathrooms. And I thought it could be done in one day. It can't. Next time I'll be prepared for my stress level. And maybe I'll grab veggie juice to start...
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