You know you've gone cookoo....

CookieD86 · February 2014

When you can't decide on dinner plates to put on your registry.........for weeks. This is the dumbest obsession I've ever had. Why can't I choose an everyday set and stick with?! And yes I am venting about myself. Four months to go and I'm officially losing it lol over something so dumb! Anyone else catching themselves doing something ridiculous?

jessicabessica · February 2014

I don't think that's so dumb. Dishes can be pricey, and you'll hopefully use these for decades to come. Take your time, and pick something you like and can see yourself using for a while. Is your FI interested in helping at all?

themuffinman16 · February 2014

Check out the reviews when registering for place settings. I used to have plates from target. LOVED the design on them, but they are a cheaper stoneware. That said, my current dishes got so hot out of the microwave (or even when just adding hot food), you get startled by how hot the plate gets in such a short time. This resulted in me or usually guests, dropping and chipping or cracking the plates. There is not one plate in my collection without a chip or a large crack. I know Target is SOOOOO much cheaper, but I realized I wanted to get higher quality plates. Macy's had a place setting that I adored, but it was stoneware again. I checked the reviews, however, and other consumers even mentioned getting their stoneware from cheaper stores and realized the higher quality of stoneware is the only way to go if you chose those type of dishes. ANd people have said after years of this place setting, it has held up very well. Some of the nicer companies will allow you to purchase future place settings at half price, in case you do break a dish. I chose Lenox Opal Innocence in white. The design keeps the dish from being plain, depth of cereal bowls is a huge issue, in my opinion (A+), and the style of the dish (round not square) ensures it will be a classic and not too trendy. And why not go with a simple color for plates and just change the colors of place mats, table runners, and table cloth to switch things up (usually they are much cheaper than plates.) The price says $100 for a place setting, which I find VERY expensive. But most times, Macy's place settings are B1G1 or they are on sale for $50-$60.

CookieD86 · February 2014

Thank you! Now i don't feel as crazy. He has been helping with the registry and his only request about the dishes is that he does not like any dark colors. Which is fine I agree with that. @jessicabessica

CookieD86 · February 2014

@themuffinman16 thanks that is very helpful! I am registered on Macys and couldn't decide from their 750 dinner plate selection lol. But that is a good suggestion to check the reviews first.

themuffinman16 · February 2014

I would narrow my selection down to color... is there a certain color that speaks to you? If you only want white, narrow down the selection. Their pages and pages of choices makes it tedious to decide. If you prefer a certain material, stoneware, narrow down the selection that way.If you don't know, read a few reviews of the different materials and find out which material will work best for you and FI (dishwasher safe? microwaveable?) If you are a smart shopper, it takes a while to build a registry. This is not your dorm room hodge podge. This is the set you will most likely have for a long time. It is okay to be a finicky shopper, you will be much happier with your items in the long run.

CookieD86 · February 2014

I would really love a red set. Is stoneware pretty durable? What type of a material would any of you suggest that will last a while? The price range is pretty flexible as long as it is a good type.

theartistformerlyknownas · February 2014

Ugh. Not yet, but I know I will! FI thinks "we have dishes already, why do we need new ones?" Because our crapass, chipped up, discontinued dishes from IKEA are not what I plan to serve Thanksgiving dinner to our grandkids on in 40 years. So yes it's a big deal. We've never had to choose anything that's going to last us this long except for our fiances, and we didn't choose them in one shot either!

themuffinman16 · February 2014

PORCELAIN tableware. The pros: thin, light, solid and waterproof. The con: it can be quite expensive! Depends where you buy it...

STONEWARE tableware. The pros: very sturdy and waterfproof (therefore suited for microwave and dishwasher). The cons: quite thick and heavy.

EARTHENWARE tableware.Among the pros: that rustic look and feel apreciated for its simplicity. But it can also be painted, enameled or varnished. The cons: Very fragile, easily broken. Also its porosity does'nt allow the use of microwave or dishwasher, nor is soaking allowed.

themuffinman16 · February 2014

Stoneware is much cheaper than Porcelain or Bone China. It is much heavier, but is casual enough for every day use. My place settings are actually Porcelain. That costs around $100 per place setting (but it is always on sale). Unless you are looking into fine china, as well, your place setting should be fancy enough for company but casual enough for every day use. Stoneware is cheaper than porcelain, so you could probably find a good set for $60-80 per place setting. That said, Macy's always has sales and seldom sells their place settings at full price.

Red might be a limiting color. The only quality place setting I know that comes in red is Fiestaware. There might be others, but not many. Usually, dishes tend to be more muted to make the color of your food stand out (lavender, cornflower blue, peach, sage green, ivory, white.) I would pick functionality over color and it could be the accent color in your kitchen or dining room. BBB also might have place settings in red. I have not checked there, but it is more expensive for guests to buy from there as their primary deals are 20% off one item with a coupon. (might make it harder for some guests to buy you more than one place setting).

jessicabessica · February 2014

There are a lot of options in red in addition to Fiestaware. Just take a look at BBB's website. Think about if you want all red, red pattern, or plainer pieces with patterned pieces you can use with the plain set. Do you want square plates? Round plates? Mugs or teacups and saucuers or both?

We went with everyday china instead of stoneware because we found a pattern we really liked at Macy's. I also like that it is lightweight, and my understanding is china might shatter easier than stoneware, but stoneware will get chipped pretty easily. Our china is oven/dishwasher/microwave safe (although most stoneware should be as well--not a bad idea to check individual sets). We also liked that there were lots of different pieces--cereal bowls, deeper bowls, shallow bowls, mugs with a nice shape.

ETA: These are our everyday dishes. You can see that there are many different items that go with the set, which was part of why we liked it.

CookieD86 · February 2014

Thank you all for the suggestions I appreciate it.

@themuffinman16 I found a set by Noritake that have red on the rims. My kitchen is primarily white and black so I was looking to have some color at the table, but truly I can change that with a table cloth lol. I gave up on BBB for place settings and strictly looking at Macys for my table. Bc honestly I am going to change my mind in a week (hopefully I don't).

@jessicabessica thanks so much I did look into Fiestaware and was not crazy about the style. I am looking for round plates and more something everyday than china ( someone bought me china already). which set did you end up going with?

jessicabessica · February 2014

@CookieD86, I linked to our set in my edit (it's Villeroy and Boch Vieux Luxembourg, we went with the round plates). Link here again. We have been using them now for 2 1/2 years and still like them and get compliments. We also have fancy china (DH really wanted to have it for special occasions).

HisGirlFriday13 · February 2014

We registered for both regular and fine china. We've used our fine china at least one a month since we got married.

Neither of us likes patterns, so we registered for the Noritake ColourWave in Apple (green) from BB&B (clicky). I liked the square plates a lot. Also, the four-piece set was reasonably priced, but there are add-ons (soup bowls, individual salad plates, appetizer bowls, etc.) in the same pattern that we could get.

They've held up really well for us (DH isn't easy on things), and they don't get too hot when they're being microwaved or have hot foods on them.

Our fine china is a Mikasa pattern, which both BB&B and Macy's carry (clicky).

I was very interested in good quality, and Noritake is good quality, because I do expect this will last us our whole lives.

CookieD86 · February 2014

@hisgirlfriday13 thanks! I registered for the Noritake for everyday use, and got Mikasa also for my Fine China. we're on the same page girly! lol thank you for the suggestions.

JaniV123 · February 2014

Our fine china is being passed down from my mom, and "themed" dishes will be passed down from my grandmother. We just registered for a 42 set from white elements for everyday use (although I just noticed it does not have coffee mugs) we have. Ot finished our registry but its not open yet either so we have some time

seshat303 · February 2014

Yeah, you're totally not alone. I've been obessing over flatware patterns and I think my FI thinks I'm losing my mind. It's hard for me because I feel like once we have a matched set it's something that should be durable enough we won't have to worry about replacing it for a helluva long time so I want a pattern I really love. Problem is that the patterns I really love are $40+ per place setting which seems a little excessive to me so then I have guilt about sticking it on the registry. Damn you C&B and your well designed things....

As far as dishware goes I love my plain white Corelle to death. It's lightweight, durable, and I'd feel fine using it for formal dinners since its so neutral I could easily dress up the rest of the table.

Aray82 · February 2014

Not cuckoo at all! I knew I wanted a basic white set that would be easy and cheap to replace (we're both klutzes) for everyday use, but I'm taking my time looking at formal china that I expect to last forever. I might think something looks cute and trendy now, but I don't want it to look dated either. Some of the Lenox stuff is pretty classic-looking, IMO.

kitty8403 · May 2014

CookieD86 said:
When you can't decide on dinner plates to put on your registry.........for weeks. This is the dumbest obsession I've ever had. Why can't I choose an everyday set and stick with?! And yes I am venting about myself. Four months to go and I'm officially losing it lol over something so dumb! Anyone else catching themselves doing something ridiculous?

I had the same problem!

You know you've gone cookoo....

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