Strongly Worded

Such a Crying Shame

So yesterday was my last day at Houseware Heaven. It was great. I bought a bunch of things I've been coveting for a while, including a way-overpriced-but-adorable teapot set and a cheese slate. Everyone was ultra friendly and sad to see me go (or so they said). It was a relaxing day and I didn't make any major errors (well, OK, one, but it was easily amended).

I also had an intriguing encounter with a very cute couple registering for their wedding (a year away). They wandered around the store, clearly overwhelmed, and asked for my opinion of the these dark gray, Asian-inspired place settings they were considering. The set depressed me even under the bright lights of the store. They concluded they would quickly get sick of the dishes, chose a few other random items, and left.

Subsequently, I was browsing around on a weddingchannel.com, which is a clearinghouse for bridal registries, and, out of curiousity, I looked up the page of my former roommate, Beth, who got married a few weeks ago. Beth is profoundly sweet and lovely, but she couldn't be any less domestic. In the year that we lived together, she never once cleaned any aspect of her bedroom or bathroom (at least by the looks of it), and she subsisted mainly on cereal mixed with frozen berries. She also consumed large quantities of coffee, pickles, and salad. I don't think she ever cooked anything, and she would watch me wistfully when I cooked, as if from afar.

So I was a little rattled to learn that this chick has registered for--and received--pretty much everything that All-Clad, Calphalon, and Le Creuset have ever made, plus a KitchenAid mixer, and a number of implements (like a $149 roaster!) that I perceive as Very Culinarily Advanced.

Will her colossal-but-tasteful (it is, I've seen it) engagement ring beam in gourmet sensibility?

... or will she serve pickles and cereal in "Horizon" bowls? And warm up her leftovers in her $220 Le Creuset lemongrass dutch oven?

Or ... will all this extraordinarily expensive and beautiful cookware just languish in a box (as most of her possessions did during the whole year we lived together--she never fully unpacked), a melange of waste and good taste?

Posted by Dori at 7:38 PM