When given options I should always take the simplest one.... it will make me happiest in the long run.

My new sis-in-law got beautiful everyday dishes and some quite lovely china. I think she did pretty well considering she registered over the internet.

This got me thinking.

First, I got over my lust for her new dishes by realizing I love my everyday dishes. When given options I should always take the simplest one.... it will make me happiest in the long run.

Second, I thought about fancy plates. Do people outside of rural America register for china anymore? I did. Because my mother-in-law said I would regret it if I didn't. And I like my china. It's some lovely Villery-Boch white stuff with a variety of floral cake plates. Go here and look at photo 11 of 19 if you really care. I resisted registering for fancy silverware. I find this is just fine. And I'm particular about my eatin' 'tinsels..... I'm left-handed. And a lot of cutlery discriminates.

I registered for and got LOTS of glassware. I like the sound of crystal but my glasses are so delicate they regularly are broken by hand-washing.... the ones we really use are the sturdy Target cheapies. If I had it to do over again (and, if I keep breaking wine glasses I might) I'd get a couple random sets from an antique store or garage sale and mix-n-match. Everyone's favorite glassware at my mom's house are actually green wineglasses that came from ARBY'S... free with a beef and cheddar.

I recently reorganized my tiny kitchen a bit. Well, actually, I reorganized the office corner of the living room to make room for all the games which required moving all the platters and things out of the drawer in the computer hutch. They are now stashed in the cupboard over the microwave behind the cereal. The fancy china that WAS up there is now on the shelf in the bottom cupboard behind the kitchenaide and the crackers by the pitchers. The random spare food items that WERE on that shelf are now in the pantry in the laundry room. Don't ask me how all that stuff fits because I'm not really sure.... something about giving up Hamburger Helper and not replacing all the toxic cleaning supplies made everything fit in the laundry room.

All that to say... now the fancy china is more accessible and we are actually USING it. Like... I had to take the price tags off the plates on the bottom of the stack. Finally.

And we recently had tea and scones and used the tea pot. And we regularly use the little expresso cups and Asian-inspired tea cups for our snacks.

And it is fun. I like the idea my kids are learning a few refined things. Not much, granted, but at least they are learning life isn't ALWAYS served on a plastic John Deere plate.

The whole point of this post was to say: When given options I should always take the simplest one.... it will make me happiest in the long run.